SAW – 125-0 (14.5)

Player of the Match – Laura Wolvaardt

South Africa Women faced Sri Lanka Women in the ICC Women’s World Cup at Colombo on Friday, October 17.

Another day, another match ruined by rain. It’s like a ritual in ICC events that some matches are affected by rain. 

Sri Lanka Women won the toss and opted to bat first. Sri Lanka started slow. But in the 7th over, Masabata Klaas bowled out Hasini Perera, and in the 10th over, Masabata took down the Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu.

After 12 overs, rain started, and the match was reduced to a 20-over game. A team that was playing for 50 overs suddenly gets to know that they have only 8 overs left. DLS score is not always accurate because if a player plays aggressively from the start, how can this be justified in the DLS method?

Vishmi Gunaratne, who got hurt in the first half, came back to the crease in the 15th over after Harshita’s wicket and scored 34 runs off 33 balls. Nonkululeko Mlaba took 3 wickets in the last over, Masabata Klaas picked 2 wickets and Nadine de Klerk picked 1 wicket.

The DLS target for South Africa was 121, and it was an easy target because of the rain. The outfield was wet, making it difficult to field and catch, especially for the spinners.

South Africa’s batting approach made it too easy. Laura Wolvaardt scored 60 runs off 47 balls and her opening partner Tazmin Brits scored 55 runs off 42 balls. It was an easy win for South Africa.

AUSW – 331-7 (49)

Player of the match – Alyssa Heal

Australia Women defeated Indian Women in a record-breaking match at the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 in Visakhapatnam. It was a thrilling match where Australia chased  331 runs, now the most successful chase in women’s ODI history.

Batting first, India scored 330 runs. Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal played good knocks and helped India reach a strong total. The Indian team looked good after posting such a big score on the board.

But Australia started their chase strongly. Alyssa Healy became the star of the match with an outstanding 142 runs off 107 balls. She got good support from other batsmen in the middle. India tried to fight back with a few quick wickets, but Australia handled the pressure well.

The big difference came from Annabel Sutherland, who not only took 5 wickets while bowling but also contributed with the bat. Australia reached the target with a few balls remaining and won the match by three wickets.

It was a tough loss for India after putting up a strong fight. Australia once again showed why they are one of the strongest teams in women’s cricket.

South Africa won the toss and opted to field. India started with a boundary on the very first ball of the match off Marizanne Kapp. The start was solid — 55/1 after 10 overs — but wickets at regular intervals put India under pressure. At 26 overs, India was struggling at 102/6.

That’s when Richa Ghosh rose under pressure. Amanjot Kaur, who was struggling to rotate the strike, got out for 13 (44), but that didn’t affect Richa. Sneh Rana and Richa started attacking the bowlers, adding crucial runs in the final overs. Sneh got out in the 49th over, and Richa fell just short of a hundred after hitting a couple of boundaries in the last over. India was all out for 251 in 49.5 overs.

For South Africa, Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits opened the innings. Kranti Gaud picked up the wicket of Tazmin for 0, putting South Africa under early pressure. Quick wickets followed, and Laura stood firm in the middle, scoring a valuable 70 runs. At 142/6, India seemed to be in control.

But Nadine de Klerk had other plans. Her aggressive batting turned the game around as she smashed 84 runs off just 54 balls, with 8 fours and 5 sixes, guiding South Africa to victory in 48.5 overs. Chloe Tryon also contributed with a solid all-round performance, scoring 46 runs off 66 balls. Nadine de Klerk became player of the match.