Indore, Oct 6 (IANS) Left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba starred with a four-wicket haul as South Africa bowled out New Zealand for 231, despite a fighting 85 from Sophie Devine, in their Women’s World Cup clash at the Holkar Stadium on Monday.
Opting to bat first, Kiwis had a worst possible start as they lost veteran opener Suzie Bates on a duck, that too on the first ball of the match in her 350th international game for New Zealand. She was trapped in front of the wickets by Proteas pacer Marizanne Kapp to put White Ferns under pressure. It was Bates’ second consecutive duck in the tournament after failing to score against Australia at the same venue.
However, Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr staged a comeback for their side with a 44-run crucial partnership for the second wicket. After the early setback, the duo took a cautious approach and dragged the side to 38/1 after the end of the powerplay.
The partnership was put to an end by Nadine de Klerk in the 13th over as she removed Amelia Kerr for 23. New Zealand captain Sophie Devine joined Plimmer in the middle, and the duo engaged in another vital stand as South Africa didn’t give a chance to score freely despite the end of the powerplay.
Devine and Plimmer added a 57-run stand for the third wicket, with the former contributing more than half of the runs. Chloe Tryon brought the third scalp for Proteas with Plimmer handing a simple catch to Nadine de Klerk at long-on, reducing New Zealand to 101/3 after 25.4 overs.
Brooke Halliday’s arrival at the crease lifted the scoring rate for New Zealand, with Devine also supporting from the other end. Halliday played shots to her will and scored boundaries at regular intervals.
Meanwhile, Devine completed her 17th ODI half-century and continued to hold one end strong as the Kiwis crossed the 150-run mark. Nonkululeko Mlaba broke the 86-run partnership by removing Halliday in the 39th over. Halliday contributed a quickfire 45 in 37 balls laced with six fours.
New Zealand faltered after that and lost Maddy Green (4) and Isabella Gaze (10) quickly before Mlaba bowled out Devine for 85 in the 45th over to bring New Zealand’s innings to its decisive end. Devine’s knock was studded with nine fours and came at a crucial juncture for the side, while featuring in her 300th international game.
Mlaba returned with the figures of 4-40 in her 10 overs to bundle out New Zealand for 231/10 in 47.5 overs.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 231/10 in 47.5 overs (Sophie Devine 85, Brooke Halliday 45; Nonkululeko Mlaba 4-40) against South Africa.
–IANS
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