Proteas all-rounder Nadine de Klerk drove South Africa to a three-wicket victory in yet another close run chase, this time against Bangladesh Women in Visakhapatnam in the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
There seems to be something about Visakhapatnam that gets De Klerk into her element.
The right-handed batter rescued South Africa against India at the same venue last week and produced a similar performance to secure a three-wicket win over Bangladesh on Monday night. The 25-year-old finished unbeaten on 37 off 29 deliveries, showing nerves of steel in the final over when South Africa needed eight more runs to win, hitting a four and a six to take the Proteas home.
With the victory, South Africa sit safe inside the qualification zone with six points from four matches. However, there is a brewing habit in the team that may prove costly later in the tournament.
The team seems to lack ruthlessness, often leaving the run chase to the very last over instead of closing it out early, especially when chasing relatively small targets such as the 233 runs set by Bangladesh on Monday.
Laura Wolvaardt (31) and Anneke Bosch (28) had starts but failed to guide the team home. Marizanne Kapp (56) and Chloe Tryon (62) put together an excellent partnership of 85 runs but did not preserve their wickets to see the team over the line. Annerie Dercksen (2) did not last long in her first match of the tournament, while Sinalo Jafta’s (4) poor run of form continued.
The Proteas were also not ruthless with the ball and in the field, allowing Bangladesh to claw their way back after being five wickets down with 78 runs on the board in the 23rd over.
South Africa seemed satisfied with keeping Bangladesh’s scoring rate low in the middle overs, conceding only 72 runs from the 23rd to the 40th over. That strategy backfired in the final 10 overs, as Bangladesh’s Shorna Akhter unleashed a powerful display of boundary hitting, finishing unbeaten on 51 not out. F
ielding errors from South Africa allowed Bangladesh to score 82/4 in the final 10 overs, making the contest closer than expected.
Spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba finished as pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/42, while Nadine de Klerk (1/39) and Chloe Tryon (1/41) also claimed wickets.