If you ever wanted to see a cricket match turn on a dime, this was it. One minute, New Zealand looked like they were cruising towards a massive total, and the next, they were in absolute tatters. The hero of the hour for South Africa was undoubtedly Nonkululeko Mlaba, who completely shifted the momentum and the mood with a breathtaking spell of bowling that left the Kiwis reeling.
Key Highlights
- ✓ Nonkululeko Mlaba single-handedly changed the game with incredible figures of 4 for 40.
- ✓ Sophie Devine played a heroic knock of 85 in her 300th international appearance.
- ✓ New Zealand suffered a sensational collapse, crumbling from a strong position of 187 for 3 to 231 all out.
- ✓ Devine and Brooke Halliday put on a formidable 86-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
- ✓ Marizanne Kapp set the tone early, dismissing Suzie Bates for a second consecutive duck with the very first ball.
Devine's Milestone Masterclass
You really have to talk about Sophie Devine. Playing in her 300th international match is a massive achievement in itself, but she was determined to make it a memorable one. She came into this game on the back of a valiant 112 against Australia, and she carried that form right into this clash on a tricky, slow surface in Indore. Things could have been so different, though. She nearly got run out without even facing a delivery!
It was a heart-in-mouth moment when a straight drive from Georgia Plimmer deflected off the bowler, Masabata Klaas, and narrowly missed the stumps with Devine well short of her ground. But as the great players do, she capitalized on that slice of luck and made South Africa pay. She fought her way through a tough initial period to craft a brilliant innings of 85, anchoring the New Zealand effort when they needed it most.
A Partnership That Promised So Much
The real fireworks began when Brooke Halliday joined Devine at the crease. After Plimmer was dismissed for a sluggish 31 off 68 balls, Halliday came in and played with incredible intent. It was like she was batting on a completely different pitch. She immediately went on the attack, using sweeps and reverse-sweeps to find the boundary five times in her first 15 balls. You could feel the pressure shifting back onto the South African bowlers.
This wasn't the first time Halliday had been a thorn in South Africa's side; her late heroics in the T20 World Cup final last year were still fresh in their memory. The partnership with Devine flourished, raising a half-century stand in just 41 balls, with Halliday contributing a rapid 33. Soon after, Devine brought up her 17th ODI fifty and hit the accelerator, smashing Sune Luus for back-to-back fours. At 187 for 3, New Zealand looked destined for a score well over 250.
The Unraveling: A Collapse for the Ages
Here’s where the script completely flipped. Just when it seemed New Zealand had the game by the scruff of the neck, they found a way to trip themselves up spectacularly. It all started in the 39th over. The architect of the destruction? Nonkululeko Mlaba. She got the breakthrough by tempting Halliday into a miscued slog-sweep, ending a dangerous knock of 45.
That single wicket opened the floodgates. Suddenly, the confidence that Devine and Halliday had built seemed to evaporate from the New Zealand dressing room. Maddy Green followed soon after, reverse-sweeping a ball straight to Anneke Bosch at point. But the hammer blow, the one that truly sealed New Zealand’s fate, was the dismissal of Sophie Devine. Mlaba bowled a full delivery, and Devine, trying to work it to the leg side, was bowled. Just like that, the momentum had been seized back by a resurgent South Africa.
The numbers from that point on are just staggering. From a commanding position of 187 for 3, New Zealand simply fell apart. The last five batters could only scrape together a paltry 22 runs between them. They were eventually bowled out for 231 in 47.5 overs, a total that felt miles short of what they should have achieved. All the hard work done in the middle overs was undone in a chaotic final stretch.
Early Cracks and South Africa's Stranglehold
Looking back, the warning signs were there for New Zealand right from the very beginning. The day started with a massive jolt as the veteran Suzie Bates was dismissed by Marizanne Kapp off the very first ball of the match, playing around her front pad. It was her second straight duck, and it put the Kiwis on the back foot immediately. The pitch was slow, and scoring wasn't easy.
Melie Kerr tried to counter-attack and play with aggression, but her partner Georgia Plimmer found it incredibly tough to get going. The lack of pace and bounce made it difficult to hit shots square of the wicket, and Plimmer struggled for any real momentum. In fact, New Zealand played out an astonishing 72 dot balls in the first 15 overs, a testament to the tight lines and lengths bowled by the South African attack.
Even though Kerr was reprieved on 21, she couldn't make it count and fell to Nadine de Klerk. This early struggle for runs is what made Devine's innings so important. She broke a long 47-ball boundary drought with a powerful pull shot and single-handedly tried to lift the scoring rate, making up for the sluggish start. But in the end, that terrible finish meant all her efforts were in vain, leaving South Africa's players boisterous and full of confidence at the halfway mark.
Conclusion
What a rollercoaster of an innings! This match was a perfect example of how quickly things can change in cricket. For a long time, it looked like Sophie Devine's heroic 85 would set up a dominant total for New Zealand. Her partnership with Brooke Halliday was powerful and put them in a fantastic position to launch in the final overs.
However, cricket is a funny old game, and Nonkululeko Mlaba produced a spell of bowling that completely turned the match on its head. Her four wickets, especially those of the set batters, sparked a shocking collapse that saw New Zealand undo all their hard work. In the end, South Africa walked off the field with all the momentum, leaving New Zealand to wonder what might have been.
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