Kapp does it again as South Africa trump New Zealand to make it four in four
Amelia Kerr's three-four and Sophie Devine's 93 go in vain for New Zealand, who go down for the third time in the tournament
Amelia Kerr's three-four and Sophie Devine's 93 go in vain for New Zealand, who go down for the third time in the tournament
Scorer: Binoy George | Commentator: Vishal Dikshit
9.20pm What does the points table look like then? Australia and South Africa with four wins at the top are getting closer and closer to the semi-final spots. India, third, need at least two more wins from their remaining three games. New Zealand are under immense pressure with two wins from their five, and their clash against England on Sunday will be like virtual knockout. Whoever loses will be effectively out of the race. That's all from us for today then, from another exciting and thrilling match of this World Cup. Join us tomorrow for West Indies vs Bangladesh. For now, it's good bye from me, Vishal Dikshit, and Srivathsa. Ciao!
And some stats from Sampath before we go...South Africa Women while chasing in ODIs since the start of 2020: won 13 out of 15, with one tie and one no result. It's also the fourth straight win for SA vs NZ in ODIs, since 2020. Before 2020, SA had won just two against them, while NZ had won 11.
Kapil Baldawa: "What a player Kapp is and if Women's IPL has to happen, she may fetch the highest bids along with Amelia Kerr and Devine.. What a player, Kapp you beaut"
Sune Luus: A roller-coaster of emotions, not the close game we wanted but we'll take those points. We started well in the powerplay and Devine batted brilliantly but we did fantastically well to restrict them. Kappie did a brilliant job. Australia is a competitive camp but there's not too much pressure on us and we'll focus on the small things.
Sophie Devine: Amelia Kerr was outstanding, those two wickets shifted the momentum and we kept crawling our way back in. The games have been going down to the wire so if you stay in, anything can happen. We spoke about keeping out their strike bowlers, how dangerous Ismail and Kapp are. Our runs rate was a little bit slower than normal, a shade disappointed the way we finished. Someone from our the top four or five has to be there at the end and that should get us 280. Look, it's easy to look at it in hindsight, we were a bit too wide on that wicket and it's probably a learning curve for us. A million different things we could have tried but in the end credit to South Africa. We have to move forward quickly and play England on Sunday, they'll be hurting as well and it's a really interesting tournament with so many teams vying for the top four.
9.10pm Another big win for South Africa, because of the opposition, and it's their first victory against New Zealand in Women's World Cups. South Africa are also the first team to chase down a total successfully in Hamilton in this tournament, where batting first is proving to be a big advantage. They put all those records and conditions aside, bowled like a champion side to restrict NZ to under 250, and even though their batting continues to be shaky, their lower order has done it again. SA are unbeaten and placed second on the points table, just behind Australia, and NZ are placed fourth for now but they've played more games than anyone.
Aravind: "NZ did not play 13 balls and gave away 14 runs in wides, and yet ran this so close... Wow!"
Tushar: "Wow! This Women's World Cup is the best ICC event in a long time. It's anybody's guess who the semi-finalists will be. England vs New Zealand, South Africa vs Windies, and South Africa vs India will be key encounters."
John: "Can Paul of "SA's not good enough to reach the last four" please stand up?"
Kapp is the Player of the Match: These [close] games have to stop now (laughs)! Again a team effort, not our best because our perfect game is around the corner. We bowled a bit better against England, to be honest. Our batters have been struggling and we want to come out stronger. I was nervous [while batting with Luus], I'm not gonna lie. They batted brilliantly again today, but you can't get relaxed and luckily we won again today. Didn't bowl too well today, to be honest, just need a few more people to pick up the strands and we'll be good.
8.58pm Another thriller, another one involving South Africa, and another win for South Africa, they remain unbeaten! Some of the South African players are running out of the dressing room, Devine is on her knees, Mackay is dejected. Third loss for New Zealand, the hosts, and they'll be ruing why they didn't bat out those 50 overs and get those extra runs. And what a knock from Marizanne Kapp! She didn't lose any hope, wickets kept falling, she kept getting the ones and twos, and then unleashed the big hits at the right time.
Kapp calls Khaka and has a long chat with a lot of gestures with her right hand. A long chat ends. The field comes up
Michael: "I had a bad feeling about this when NZ did not bat out overs. Felt like we needed 240 to have a chance"
Six needed off six. Have a glass of water, take a deep breath, slap your cheeks, it's going down right to the wire. Who'll bowl this one, Tahuhu? No, it's Mackay with her offbreaks. Kapp on strike
Back to run a ball, long-off drops back
Khaka should try and give Kapp the strike
The match had everything possible, almost - here's a lookback at how the Hamilton ODI unravelled
Amelia Kerr's three-four and Sophie Devine's 93 go in vain for New Zealand, who go down for the third time in the tournament