ICC Women's Cricket World Cup: South Africa Captain Sune Luus Looking Forward For Upcoming Match With Australia

After defeating New Zealand in Match 16 of the ongoing ICC Women's World Cup on Thursday, South Africa skipper Sune Luus said that her side is not taking much pressure for the upcoming clash against Australia. Ayabonga Khaka and Shabnim Ismail's fiery spell backed by Laura Wolvaardt's blistering knock helped South Africa to defeat New Zealand by three wickets in the ongoing ICC Women's ODI World Cup here at Seddon Park. "It is a roller-coster of emotions. We probably made it harder than it was supposed to be. But at the end of the day we will take the points and go. I don't think we did too bad, we started off well and had a good powerplay. Devine played a good knock in the middle but we brought back nicely at the end. They were 200 around the 40th over and we did well to restrict them to 228," said Sune Luus after the game.

"We regrouped nicely and my partnership with Laura was crucial, we should have probably stayed till the end and seen it through, but Kapp did a brilliant job. Australia is always a good competitive game. There's not too much pressure on us. We will look to improve the small things and take it from there," she added.

Sophie Devine's innings of 93 went in vain as South Africa bowlers Ismail and Khaka scalped three wickets respectively that bowled out New Zealand on 228.

Chasing 229, South Africa had a quick start but opener Lizelle Lee was run out in the fifth over with 25 runs on the board. Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits then steadied the ship for the second wicket. They mixed caution with aggression perfectly to ensure that there was no further damage. But later Brits was sent back to the pavilion by Amelia Kerr on 18 runs.

At the halfway stage, South Africa were 105/2, needing 124 more runs for victory. Skipper Sune Luus took her side to the 150-run mark with Wolvaardt. Laura Wolvaardt smashed a brilliant 50, her 3rd in a row. Their partnership was broken in the 35th over by Amelia Kerr as Wolvaardt got dismissed after scoring 67 runs.

Mignon du Preez joined the skipper but she was sent back by Kerr after scoring one run. Luus smashed a crucial fifty in 38th over. Luus departed soon after reaching her fifty as Hannah Rowe gave her side a big breakthrough in the 40th over.

Later, Marizanne Kapp ensured that there was no further damage. She kept on thrashing the New Zealand bowlers and brought her side home with two wickets and their fourth consecutive win in the ongoing tournament.

Earlier hosts failed to register a big score against a disciplined South African attack. An excellent innings of 93 from Sophie Devine has helped New Zealand post a decent total in the match against South Africa.

Topics mentioned in this article

South Africa Women Australia Women Sune Luus ICC Women's World Cup 2022 Cricket