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South Africa defeated India by three wickets in an exciting Women’s World Cup match on Thursday thanks to strong batting from Laura Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk despite Richa Ghosh’s powerful 94 runs for India. Who played well for South Africa? South Africa’s captain Wolvaardt scored 70 Chloe Tryon made 49 and Nadine de Klerk remained not out with 84 runs off 54 balls. Together they helped South Africa reach 252 runs for 7 wickets in 48.5 overs beating India’s total of 251. This win moved South Africa to fourth place on the points table. At one point South Africa seemed in trouble when half their team was out with less than 100 runs scored. Indian bowler Kranti Gaud caught opener Tazmin Brits for zero which started South Africa’s batting collapse. Experienced players like Marizanne Kapp Sune Luus Anneke Bosch and Sinalo Jafta got out quickly leaving South Africa struggling at 81 for 5. What was the turning point of the match? Wolvaardt and Tryon then built a 51-run partnership to stabilize the innings. Wolvaardt played elegant shots to reach her fifty in 81 balls but Gaud broke their partnership with a fast yorker that got Wolvaardt out. At 142 for 6 South Africa still needed 110 runs to win. Then Tryon and De Klerk fought hard against India’s bowling. De Klerk hit Gaud for two sixes in a row. Their 69-run partnership for the seventh wicket brought South Africa close to the target. With 52 runs needed in the last 5 overs De Klerk’s smart batting and power helped South Africa finish the game scoring at about 10 runs per over. How did Team India perform? Earlier Richa Ghosh played an amazing innings for India scoring 94 runs off 77 balls with 11 fours and 4 sixes. She came to bat when India were in trouble at 102 for 6. Ghosh first added 51 runs with Amanjot Kaur to steady the team. She played carefully to reach her fifty in 53 balls hitting two big sixes off de Klerk and Sekhukhune to keep the runs coming. When Kaur got out trying to score faster India was at 153 for 7. Ghosh then joined with Sneh Rana who scored 33 and together they added 88 runs in 53 balls. Rana’s steady batting gave Ghosh confidence to play more aggressively scoring 44 runs in the last 24 balls. She was close to scoring her first ODI hundred but got out in the final over while trying to score quickly. India started well with openers Pratika Rawal (37) and Smriti Mandhana (23) putting together 55 runs in 10.2 overs. Mandhana tried to hit a big six off bowler Ayabonga Khaka but was soon dismissed by spinner Noku Mlaba. After Rawal and Harleen Deol (13) took the score to 83 for 1 the Indian batting collapsed. The team lost five wickets for just 19 runs. South African bowlers kept a tight line and the ball spun a little which made batting harder. Indian players also made mistakes trying to score quickly. Deol was out to a good ball from Mlaba which turned away from her and hit the stumps. Rawal tried to hit a ball from Sekhukhune but edged it to Brits who caught it. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur tried to play a strong shot but edged it to Kapp. Jemimah Rodrigues got out leg before wicket trying a sweep shot and Deepti Sharma was caught off a ball that went down leg side leaving India at 102 for 6.