Richa Ghosh’s valiant knock goes in vain as South Africa pocket thrilling World Cup win

Visakhapatnam was lit up with the fireworks from the bat last night - primarily from Richa Ghosh and Nadine de Klerk - as India and South Africa put forth a clash for the ages in the ongoing Women's World Cup 2025, only for the latter to hold the nerve and pick up three-wicket win with seven balls to spare.

Winning the toss, South Africa opted to bowl and India get off to a promising start. Pratika Rawal (37) and Smriti Mandhana (23) added 55 runs for the opening stand. However, the fall of Mandhana's wicket courtesy Nonkululeko Mlaba triggered a collapse and the Women in Blue desperately prayed for a saviour.

From 55/0, India were reduced to 102/6 as they lost Mandhana, Harleen Deol (13), Rawal, Jemimah Rodrigues (0), Harmanpreet Kaur (9) and Deepti Sharma (4) in a rush. Just when it felt that South Africa would run away with the bragging rights, they met a stern reality check in a warring stand between Richa Ghosh and Amanjot Kaur.

Despite Kaur (13) not contributing significantly, her anchoring residence at the other end allowed Richa to take over the reins and what followed thereafter was a rampage straight from the folklore of godly strikers of the white ball. Ghosh played the field to perfection and kept collecting boundaries, piling pressure on the opposition bowlers with every strike.

Knowing fairly well that there is not much batting to follow, she made the most of her partnership with her RCB teammate, Sneh Rana, who chimed in with a handy cameo of 33 from 24 as the duo added 88 runs for the seventh wicket, allowing India to have a fighting total on the board. Marizanne Kapp broke the all-important partnership with the crucial wicket of Rana while Nadine de Klerk who would later come to haunt the Indian bowlers, removed Ghosh for a sensational 94, only six runs short of a well-deserved century.

India piled up 251 before being bundled out with a ball to go in the innings. Chloe Tryon was the pick of the Proteas lot, registering figures of 3/32 while she had decent support from Mlaba, Nadine de Klerk and Kapp. The Indian bowlers who were phenomenal against their continental counterparts, needed something special to conjure that third straight win.

Much to the shock of the Proteas, the Indian bowlers dealt an early double whammy that hamstrung them early on. Kranti Goud removed Tazmin Brits even before she could open her account. Amanjot Kaur added to India’s early domination as she saw the back of Sune Luus (5), reducing South Africa to 18/2.

Marizanne Kapp (20) did get a start but could hardly scratch the surface as Sneh Rana joined the act to get India another crucial breakthrough. Deepti Sharma delivered another big fish, getting the all-important Anneke Bosch (1) as South Africa struggled to break free. N Charani kept on piling up the woes as she removed Sinalo Jafta (14), leaving South Africa crumbling at 81/5.

Just when it felt like that India might have it easy, Laura Wolvaardt led the South African charge. Joined by Chloe Tryon (49), the duo got into repair work while approaching the daunting task with caution. They added 61 runs for the sixth wicket before Kranti Goud’s searing yorker got the better of Wolvaardt. However, that did very little to dent the South African spirits.

An incoming Nadine de Klerk (84*) hopped onto the bandwagon and carefully navigated the treacherous cross-currents early in her innings. As the Proteas made the Indian bowlers toil, Nadine started switching gears. Even before India could wrest the momentum back, the damage was irreversible. Tryon played a fine knock of 49 before Sneh Rana removed her. However, de Klerk was already dictating the terms with an iron fist by then.

She secured the game for them with a six in the last over as India suffered their first loss of the tournament. Kranti Goud put up a compelling performance with numbers of 2/59 while Sneh Rana was decent as well, chronicling stats of 2/47. India lost their first game of the ongoing World Cup but still held onto the third position, courtesy of a superior NRR over South Africa.