An inspired Nonkululeko Mlaba ran through the New Zealand batting line-up, triggering a remarkable collapse from a comfortable position, to set up a morale-boosting win for South Africa in their Women’s World Cup game in Indore on Monday.
Later, an assured century by in-form Tazmin Brits sealed the deal as they bounced back from a horror show in their first game to record a comprehensive six-wicket victory with more than nine over to spare.
The South Africans had suffered an ignominious 10-wicket loss to England in Guwahati last week, after being dismissed for a paltry 69 batting first. But it was an altogether different picture against New Zealand at the Holkar Stadium on Monday, as they served a reminder that they remain one of the favourites to reach the semifinals of the marquee tournament.
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At 187/3 with 12 overs remaining, New Zealand looked primed for a competitive score, but Mlaba (4/40) had other ideas, as they were bowled out for 231 in 47.5 overs. Brits (101) and Sune Luus (83 not out) then put the matter beyond doubt with their 159-run stand for the second wicket.
The White Ferns opted to take first strike on a batting-friendly strip, but opener Suzie Bates fell for a duck and Amelia Kerr followed soon after to leave New Zealand 44/2 in 13 overs. That was when, for the second game in a row, skipper Sophie Devine (85 off 98 balls) shouldered the batting responsibility in a difficult position.
Devine had an early reprieve, a run-out attempt narrowly missing the stumps when she had not yet even faced a ball. But from there, the skipper was assured, and went about building two crucial partnerships with Georgia Plimmer and Brooke Halliday.
When Plimmer found it difficult to rotate strike or find regular boundaries, Devine was forced to take the initiative. It was only when Halliday arrived in the middle that run-scoring received an impetus.
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She milked boundaries off the spinners, allowing Devine to retreat into the more familiar anchor role. Halliday targeted the tweakers with her range of sweeps and lofted drives, and hit six fours in her 37-ball 45.
It was Halliday’s caught-and-bowled dismissal off a top edge at the start of the 39th over that precipitated a spectacular collapse.
Devine meanwhile brought up her 17th ODI fifty in her 300th international, before seeing her stumps knocked over by Mlaba. By the time the left-arm spinner had nabbed her fourth scalp, with Laura Wolvaardt taking a screamer to dismisss Lea Tahuhu, the New Zealand batting was on its last legs. Overall, they would lose their last seven wickets for 44 runs.
Smooth chase
Their score of 231 was at least 50-60 runs short on the given surface, and South Africa turned the chase into a procession after a solid start. They came out, knowing just how crucial it would be to win big after their net run rate (NRR) took a heavy beating against England.
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A score of 54/1 after the first Powerplay was a solid foundation, and once Brits found her groove, her partnership with Luus totally flattened Kiwi hopes of defending their under-par total.
Brits would leave no bowler unpunished. Amelie Kerr’s leg-spin has been one of the aspects of New Zealand’s bowling that gives them a bit of an edge in sub-continental conditions, but it was bludgeoned early by Brits, who tonked her for two fours in her first over. She would take on the other spinners too, and muscled her way through the middle overs. The medium pacers in the New Zealand ranks were not spared either.
Brits has been in phenomenal form lately – she has now hit five ODI centuries in 2025 – and her industry proved key for South Africa to decisively win this game, even as Luus provided the required stability.
Monday’s victory not only brought two crucial points, but went some way in redressing South Africa’s poor net run rate too. It was needed after the psychological bruising from the heavy defeat in the previous game.
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“Such an amazing turnaround. This is what we knew we were capable of, really happy of how quickly we put that behind us and bounced back today,” skipper Laura Volvaardt would say.
As for New Zealand, it was their second successive defeat after being in a good position. In their opener against defending champions Australia, they had the opponents in strife at one stage before they got to a big total. After failing to capitalise in the two games, they will have to treat a few bruises of their own if they want to have a chance of making the final four.
Brief scores: New Zealand 231 all out in 47.5 overs (Sophie Devine 85, Brooke Halliday 45; Nonkululeko Mlaba 4/40) lost to South Africa 234/4 in 40.5 overs (Tazmin Brits 101, Sune Luus 83 not out) by six wickets
