South Africa crashed to a heart-breaking 52-run defeat to the Women in Blue and host nation India in the final as the Indians clinched their maiden ICC trophy in the women’s side. The 52-run defeat may seem convincing, but that was far from reality as South Africa had their moments but just missed out on the key moments of the game. South Africa needs to be proud of their efforts throughout the tournament and here we will try and ascertain three reasons why they fell short last night in Navi Mumbai.
Inability to break the opening stand in powerplay put South Africa on the back foot.
South Africa won the toss under heavy conditions and decided to bowl first after play was delayed for two hours due to rain. South Africa would have hoped for early wickets with new ball and the ball doing everything. But that was not the case as India after playing themselves in for the initial 2 overs changed gears and upped the ante. The duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma slowly switched gears and put the pressure back on South Africa by starting well.
Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka could not get much seam movement off the pitch they were expecting and that’s why Laura Wolvaardt the captain had to ring in the changes. Kapp was not finding any help while Khaka also struggled with his lines and lengths while bowling with the new ball. This meant India got off to a fast start and a solid one at that. South Africa would have hoped for early wickets in the powerplay but they couldn’t get any. The duo not only batted only 10 overs but batted till almost the 18th over when Mandhana fell.
It is true that South Africa pulled things back at the backend and restricted India as the Women in Blue looked to get 320 at one stage, but efficient bowling kept the score to 298/7 and they got there because of the 104-run opening stand between Mandhana and Verma. 298 was challenging score and despite the best efforts of the Proteas led by captain Laura Wolvaardt, they fell short of the target. Going forward to future games, South Africa will want to rectify these areas and come back stronger as they will learn a lot from the experience of reaching final.
Losing 2 wickets in quick succession post 20th over to part-timer Shafali Verma dents South Africa badly.
Chasing 299 for the win, South Africa started decently as the openers Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits put on 51 for the first wicket before the latter was run out in the 10th over. Anneke Bosch came and went as the Proteas were reduced to 62/2 in 11.5 overs. The duo of Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus started to steady things with a 52-run stand off 51 balls as South Africa were cruising in the chase.
But then an inspired bowling change happened as Shafali Verma was given the ball in the 21st over and she struck getting rid of Luus. As if that was not enough, a couple of overs later, their best all-rounder Marizanne Kapp fell caught down the leg side for 4 as South Africa went from 114/2 to 123/4 in no time and this gave India belief and momentum to go through and get the win. South Africa still fought but Jafta came and took his time initially and it was too much for Laura Wolvaardt to do in the end.
South Africa needs to be more pragmatic with their approach while batting and not lose wickets in clusters. Shafali bowled a great spell in the end picking up 2 wickets and bowled 7 overs. But the Proteas were caught unaware about this move and that proved to be their undoing as the part-timer bowled well and weaved her magic in Navi Mumbai. South Africa needs to prepare and handle the key moments better in order to do well in these tournaments.
Rare off-day for Marizanne Kapp costs South Africa dear.
Whenever we talk of South Africa’s Women’s Cricket, we talk about Marizanne Kapp as she is a household name in the women’s side. One of the pedigreed all-rounders, Kapp contributes with both bat and ball. She was up for the final which started two hours late due to rain and wanted to carry on the semi-final form into the finals. She scored a quickfire 42 and picked up 5 wickets with the ball bowling nip backers against England. But here, it was a complete different story.
Getting the chance to bowl first under overcast conditions, it was expected that Kapp will take early wickets and have India under pressure. But somehow, she could not find proper swing and seam and India feasted on it. She gave away 59 runs in 10 overs and was wicketless. But we know Kapp can contribute with the bat and she had done that in the past. She walked out with South Africa decently placed in the chase at 114/3 in 20.2 overs. She was the danger player from India’s point of view.
Shafali then struck another important wicket as Kapp was caught strangled down the leg side by Richa Ghosh who took a good catch as Kapp fell for a mere 4 runs. This does not happen too often that both batting and bowling of hers fails as a unit. She is an important cog in the wheel for the Protea fire and with her missing out, it put full pressure on captain Laura Wolvaardt to do the heavy lifting. She did to a degree and then faltered towards the end.
This could be Kapp’s last ODI World Cup and she would have dearly loved to go on a high. But she will want to improve her performances in the coming games and bow out on a high. Kapp has had a good tournament, but she failed to turn up and be counted in the big finale. She would have wanted to win the Cup but that was not to be.
So, with this India have won the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 and it ended a successful tournament for everyone watching and may have brought in a revolution in the women’s game overall speaking.
Also Read: ICC Women’s ODI WC 2025: Shafali Verma’s All-Round Show Helps India Win Maiden World Cup.