Following the loss, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur commended Chloe Tryon (49 off 66) and Nadine de Klerk (84* off 54) for their outstanding knocks down the order after India had defeated half of the South African team for just 81 runs.
On Thursday, October 9, at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, the Indian side lost to South Africa by three wickets, their first loss in the 2025 Women’s World Cup. After being asked to bat first by Laura Wolvaardt, India was bowled for 251 in 49.5 overs. In their third consecutive World Cup victory over India, the Proteas chased the goal in 48.5 overs.
It’s a challenging game. Both teams performed admirably. We managed to put 251 runs on the board despite collapsing while batting. Although we lost early wickets, de Klerk and Tryon played excellently in the end. Because of their knocks, they deserved to win,” Harmanpreet declared following the game.
Earlier in the day, after the Women in Blue were reduced to 153/7 in 40 overs, Richa Ghosh helped India to a decent total. With 11 fours and four sixes in a blustery 94 off just 77 balls, the wicketkeeper-batter dominated the field. Her captain gave her a lot of praise.
“Richa can always change the game, and she has consistently performed exceptionally well for us. I’m really happy she got those big hits. We can always count on her to get a large total on the board. “I hope she will continue,” Harmanpreet Kaur remarked.
To reach a respectable total on the board, we must sit down and talk about what may be done: Harmanpreet Kaur
According to Harmanpreet, who only managed nine runs, the top order should bat longer and shoulder more responsibility. She acknowledged that throughout the first three games of the Women’s World Cup 2025, the Indian team made the same errors.
“We must assume responsibility as a top order and bat a little bit longer. When we were in the middle, we continued losing wickets, but we learnt a lot since we kept making the same error in the final three games. Harmanpreet Kaur stated, “We need to get together and talk about what can help us get a respectable score on the board.”
The 36-year-old said that the players should not let the loss to South Africa depress them because there is still a lot of cricket to play in the tournament.
“The competition is lengthy. We learnt a lot from today’s challenging game, and there are plenty of things to look forward to in the future. It’s critical to maintain our optimistic attitude, continue acting morally, and advance daily,” Harmanpreet Kaur remarked.