India vs South Africa Live Score, Women’s World Cup 2022: India fight back after Woolvardt-Goodall partnership

They need 113 runs to win off 108 balls. India still have a long way to go, Mignon du Preez and and Sune Luus are still a formidable pair and they still have Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon left to come. 

Can you believe it, Harmanpreet of all bowlers has dismissed Woolvardt. The South Africa has missed this one completely as she is beaten by the sharp spin. The ball just goes past the outside edge and takes the stumps. Harmanpreet is off to celebrate, she knows how big this wicket is and India have their tails up now. 

Woolvardt b Harmanpreet 80 (79), South Africa 145/3 in 27.5 overs

Goodall falls just one run short of her half century. Gayakwad flights the ball and Goodall comes down the pitch, misses it entirely and Ghosh completes the stumping with the batter caught completely outside her crease. 

Laura Goodall st Ghosh b Gayakwad 49 (69), SA 139/2 off 26.5 overs

Short over Gayakwad and Goodall manages to get the ball just over midwicket. A few Indian lights may have lit up there. 

The skipper is desperate for wickets now, conditions seem to be absolutely perfect for batting. Mithali ends up handing the ball to Harmanpreet, who is yet to bowl in this tournament. 

South Africa 133/1 in 25 overs

It seems to go from bad to worse for India. The players can be seen wiping the ball with towels as Sneh Rana bowls the 25th over. As if it hasn’t been difficult enough for India to contain the flow of runs, let alone challenge these two batters, dew seems to be coming in to play as well. 

And it has come in just 99 balls. Wolvaardt is on 66 off 62 while Goodall is on 37 off 49. SA are 114/1 in 21 overs. 

Wolvaardt finishes the 20th over with a four to move to 65 off 50. She had hit a boundary off the third ball of  that over to get South Africa past the 100-run mark. 

Four singles in that over with absolutely no problems for South Africa and all these runs are hurting India. Goodall and Wolvaardt have put up 81 off 86 balls so far and put South Africa well on track in this chase. 

She has hardly given the Indians any chance and has cruised to her half century in just 44 balls. For now, it’s looking all too easy for South Africa. They need 194 to win off 34 overs. 

South Africa are cruising along at the moment and India are in a spot of bother now. The partnership between Goodall and Wolvaardt has gone past 50 and they are well on track of chasing this total down now. 

Wolvaardt pulls Sneh Rana for her sixth boundary to get South Africa to 50 off the last ball of the 10th over. She has powered them to a good start to this chase despite the fall of the early wicket.

Laura Wolvaardt is putting on a show here. She first flicks Meghna Singh behind squre and then brings an exquisite cover drive for a second consecutive four. She is the highest run scorer of the tournament and India know they have to get her out as quickly as possible. 

South Africa 43/1 in 9 overs 

That is a showstopper of a direct hit from Harmanpreet and, just as India did earlier in the day, South Africa lose their first wicket to a run out. Unlike India though, this was no mix-up and Harmanpreet had to get it absolutely spot on. It was a streaky run and the batters were challenging the fielder more than anything else but once the direct hit came, it was clear that Lee was well short of the crease. 

Lizelle Lee run out (Harmanpreet Kaur) 6 (15), South Africa 14/1 off 4.4 overs

Wolvaardt with her first boundary of the match and she cuts it up and over the infield in the fifth over. 

Deepti bowls the second over and almost delivers off the very first ball. It was a ripper of a delivery that missed Wolvaardt’s outside edge and the off stump by a whisker. Just one run came off that over and that makes it 2/0 for South Africa off the first two overs. 

Meghna Singh is bowling the first over to Lizanne Lee with Laura Wolvaardt at the other end. She starts off with a wide. 

It was all too comfortable in the end for the defending champions and that result means that India have to win this game to go through to the semi-finals. England have now jumped to third with eight points and a net run rate of +0.95. 

Bangladesh have been reduced to their last wicket going into the last five overs of the match and they are still over 100 runs away. It is safe to say that India have to win this match to go through to the semi-finals. 

India need to defend a target of 275 to reach the semi-finals. The last 10 overs certainly did not go the way India would have wanted and the South Africans were brilliant in how they pulled things back. Even then, this remains a formidable total and India will fancy their chances despite the absence of the incomporable Jhulan Goswami. 

Last over of the innings bowled by Khaka, Harmanpreet runs two off the second ball and then goes for an almighty swing off the third. She misses the ball completely and the ball crashes on to the stumps. 

Harmanpreet b Khaka 48 (57), India 271/7 in 49.3 overs

Well that is a strange sequence of events. Sneh Rana was given out twice for almost the same shot. She tried to pull Ismail and the ball went to the wicketkeeper. The umpire gave out for caught behind on both occassions and Sneh Rana looked quite surprised both times before reviewing and there was clear daylight between ball and bat. 

Slow ball from Ismail and Richa Ghosh goes high up in the air. It looked Luus may have lost it in the sun but, she had it under her control all the time. 

Richa Ghosh c Sune Luus b Shabnim Ismail 8 (13), India 268/6 in 48.2 overs

A boundary at last. Kapp bowls it short gives Harmanpreet some width to work with and the Indian batter latches on to it. Much required boundary for India.   

It hasn’t quite been the finish they would have hoped for as the Indians struggle with the South Africans taking the pace off and hardly providing any width. 

India haven’t been able to get the kind of flow they would have wanted since the 40th over. Harmanpreet seemed to have holed out at deep midwicket but it fell just short of Tryon. The players ran a single to get to the mark. India are 250/5 in 46 overs. 

Pooja Vastrakar chips it straight to cover and Ismail continues her comeback. She was taken apart by Shafali Verma in the early part of the match but has hardly conceded anything since the opener fell. This is her first wicket of the match. 

Vastrakar c Luus b Ismail 3 (8), India 240/5 in 44.2 overs

It had to happen. Mithali goes for the big shots and finally finds a fielder. That ends a brilliant innings from the Indian captain and it is now upto Harmanpreet and the rest to get them to a good total. 

Mithali c Tryon b Klaas 68 (84), India 234/4 in 42.3 overs

10 overs to go and India will currently be looking at something beyond 300 as a good total. This seems like a good batting pitch and South Africa are a dangerous unit so India will want to take advantage of the conditions as much as possible. 

Mithali Raj is not leaving any survivors today. Khaka doesn’t take the pace off for Mithali after doing that for Harmanpreet and the Indian skipper lofts her over mid-off. A single off the next ball moves Mithali to 66. 

Mithali ends that over with a four, her sixth of the innings. Tryon bowls it wide outside off and Mithali places it brilliantly between short third man and backward point. 

64th ODI fifty for Mithali, 11th in World Cups. She tends to cope some criticism for her strike rate but this one has come in 69 balls. She now holds the record for being the youngest and the oldest player to score a half century for India in the World Cup. 

Mithali ends the 36th over with a tight single. She called for it as soon as she made contact with the ball and she reaches 49. 

A superb catch from vice-captain Chloe Tryon to end the partnership. Miscued from Mandhana and Tryon goes to her right before putting in a full dive to complete the catch. The partnership between Mandhana and Mithali ends on 80 and that catch is a tournament highlight right there. 

Mandhana c Tryon b Klaas 71 (84), India 176/3 in 32 overs

Mithali Raj has moved to 39 thanks to a couple of boundaries. This partnership is starting to hurt South Africa and it is safe to say now that India are dominating these middle overs. Mandhana and Mithali have put up 76 runs off 87 balls for the third wicket. 

The batters are knocking off the runs a bit more quickly as their partnership goes beyond 50. South Africa are reaching the point where they would be desperate for a wicket again. India 154/2 in 29 overs. 

Her second fifty, third 50-plus score if you consider the century she scored against the West Indies.  A single off Luus brings up the mark and she has got there in 69 balls. 

India 135/2 in 27 overs. 

Close shave for Smriti Mandhana. Luus tosses one outside off and Mandhana goes for a lofted shot that goes nowhere. Mignon Du Preez has a lot of distance to cover running in from long-on and she puts in a dive. She couldn’t hold on but that was a great effort from her. 

India had scored 12 boundaries in the first 14 overs and have since then hit just four. The departure of Shafali Verma has been followed by a nosedive in the scoring rate and Mandhana, especially, seems to be trying to manufacture fours with a couple of lofted shots. 

Shabnim Ismail brought back for the 22nd over and she surprises Mandhana with a well directed bouncer. It clips the batter’s hand and Mandhana takes her glove off before calling for the physio. Just a minor check-up and she is good to go. 

Full down the leg from Tryon and Mithali sweeps to get off the mark with a boundary off the third ball of the 19th over. That takes India to 102/2. All eyes will be on Mithali and Mandhana after those two dismissals now.  

Yastika Bhatia plays on down the leg side and another rather strange dismissal for India! That was a full toss which would have gone for a wide had she left that alone but Yastika sweeps rather hesitantly and the ball takes an edge before hitting the stumps. 

GONE! Yastika Bhatia b Tryon 2 (3), India 96/2 in 16.3 overs

That has come out of nowhere. Mandhana clips it to mid-on and calls for a single, Shafali seemed to say no but then set off for the run anyhow. She was halfway down the pitch when she saw it was too late and stops halfway down the pitch. Mandhana also does the same and the players walk past each other before the bails are clipped off which means Shafali has to go. That has to be the worst way to end a strong opening partnership. 

Shafali run out (Luus) 53 (46), India 91/1 off 15 overs 

Well how about that, the first six of the match comes from Smriti Mandhana! She lofts Klaas over the long-on boundary to get the maximum. India move to 90/0 in 14 overs. 

Maiden World Cup half century for Shafali. She smashes the ball straight down the ground and it reaches the boundary. That is Shafali’s eighth four and the half century has come in just 40 balls. 

No boundaries for the past two overs so a little reduction in the run rate which India wouldn’t mind at all at the moment. 

Shafali Verma is down on the ground with what seems to be a knee issue. The physio is out and Shafali has popped a pill. She gets some treatment and gets back to it so, doesn’t look like anything serious. 

England have finished their innings on 234/6 against Bangladesh. They recovered well from 96/4. Remember, if England lose this match, India will go through anyhow. 

Smriti Mandhana has chosen to hang back thus far and Shafali sent the ball to all parts of the field thus far. But this was a gift from Khaka and Mandhana latches on to it. Nice and wide and too full and Mandhana sends that along the ground past covers for four. 

And it has come in just 8.1 overs. Shafali ended the 8th over with a four and then went for a big one. Couldn’t get any timing on it but it lands in a safe zone which allows the batters to run two. 

Shafali Verma powers it through covers off Khaka to get her sixth boundary of the match already. She moves to 34 off 23 and India are 45/0 in 6.4 overs. 

Shafali Verma has picked South Africa’s spearhead apart. A couple of two’s and a no ball makes that the most expensive over for South Africa in this tournament. 

India are off to a swift start here largely thanks to Shafali Verma who is giving Shabnim Ismail all sorts of problems. The first ball of the third over was too full and on the pads and she flicked that away for four. Then it was too wide outside off and Shafali cut it past backward point for another boundary after which she skipped well wide of off stump to pick it up and set the ball on its way to the fine leg boundary. 

Shafali Verma managed to hit a four off the fourth ball after Mandhana had run a single off the second to get off strike. Ismail had to bowl the last ball of the over again as it was well wide outside off after which the batters ran two.  

Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma open the batting for India,  Shabnim Ismail starts the attack for South Africa. It’s now or never for the Indians. 

This is the first time in five World Cups that India are playing without Jhulan Goswami. The veteran pacer is out with a side strain and the Indians would be hoping that their previous match was not the last time she played in a World Cup match. 

The two sides are lining up for their national anthems. South Africa have already qualified for the semi-finals alongwith Australia, remember. So this is pretty much about what happens with India. 

Sune Luus: We’d have batted first but I don’t think the wicket will change too much. It’s still a WC match. We have to hit our straps and take the confidence into the semifinals. It’s not just a game we can relax. We want to play our best cricket. We’ve made two changes. Lara Goodall comes in for Tazmin Brits and Masabata Klaas comes in for Tumi Sekhukhune.

Mithali Raj: We’ll have a bat. Yesterday’s game was played on the same track. The spinners might get some help in the second innings. It’s a good wicket to bat when the sun is out. It’s all about holding our nerves, being composed and playing our best cricket. We understand the importance of winning today’s hame. We have two changes. Meghna Singh comes in for Jhulan Goswami, Deepti Sharma in for Punam Yadav.

India have won the toss and chosen to bat first. There will be no Jhulan Goswami with India bringing on Meghna Singh and Deepti Sharma for Poonam Yadav and the veteran India pacer. 

To say India have had a topsy-turvy tournament would be an understatement. They started off by beating Pakistan by 107 runs, then followed that up with a 62-run loss to New Zealand. They then crushed the West Indies by 155 runs before falling to a four-wicket defeat to defending champions England, who were at the time yet to win a match but were made to work in their chase of a paltry target of 135. India then lost to Australia by six wickets before beating Bangladesh by 110 runs. It has been either big wins or big losses for Mithali Raj’s side in this tournament.

India, England and hosts New Zealand are all tied on six points. While New Zealand’s fate is sealed as they have played all seven games and have a net run rate that is far lesser than that of England or India, the latter two teams are within touching distance of each other. England have an NRR of +0.778 while India are on +0.768. However, it is important to consider that the team placed above England on third, the West Indies, are on seven points but have an NRR of -0.885. This means that if both England and India win, they will go through to the semis with West Indies getting knocked out.

India’s chances of reaching the semi-finals are in their own hands as long as they avoid defeat against South Africa. For if they lose this match, it means that England would have to lose to Bangladesh in the other match that is taking place today. England won the toss and chose to bat first in that game and are finding the going difficult thus far, having lost four wickets in 29 overs for less than 110 runs. It is a tantalising next few hours coming up in the Women’s World Cup so hop along for the ride!