After marshalling a tough chase with a brilliant unbeaten 84, Nadine de Klerk had no qualms in calling out India over the injury drama in the middle of the Women's World Cup 2025 league stage match on Thursday. With looking on song with the case, despite losing seven wickets, India looked to try every trick in the hat to slow down the Proteas. As De Klerk smashed Kranti Gaud for two sixes and a four in the first three balls of the 47th over, Harmanpree Kaur's side had to bring a halt in the game when Ghosh went down with an unspecified injury.
De Klerk didn't mince her words after the game, saying she was well aware the injury issue is only a drama from the Indian side to disrupt the momentum of the game.
“Yeah, look, I think we just kind of questioned whether something really happened," she said. “We obviously felt like it was quite tactical from India to try and slow the game down. But I think in the end it actually worked out quite well because we also got a bit of a refreshment and it just gave me a few seconds to restart my head and my game plans as well. I think in the end it worked out quite well. But, yeah, we knew it was quite tactical. They really tried to slow the game down, especially with starting the over quite well and then it was all about just slowing things down. But like I said, it worked out quite well for us," De Klerk added.
De Klerk attributed South Africa's three-wicket win over India in the Women's World Cup to the clever targeting of Indian pacers in the final 10 overs on a spin-friendly surface.
Chasing 252, South Africa were 211 for seven after 46 overs, and De Klerk was batting on 45 off 39 balls after safely negotiating spinners Sneh Rana, Sree Charani and Deepti Sharma.
Needing 41 off 24 balls, De Klerk pounced on the pace-on deliveries of Kranti Gaud in the 47th over, smashing her for two sixes and a four in succession to bring down the target to 23 runs off 18 balls.
“I think seam was much easier on this wicket (to score off). I think their spinners bowled really well in that middle phase, and we knew they're going to have to bowl seamers and that was going to be the much easier option to take on. We just played smart cricket,” said De Klerk in the post-match press conference.
Off-spinner Deepti bowled the 48th over, and De Klerk managed to find two boundaries off her before applying finishing touches to the chase, smashing pacer Amanjot Kaur for two sixes in the 49th over.
“We knew that if we had to get 40 of the last four and the two of us (De Klerk and Chloe Tryon) were still batting that we could get it.
“So, it was just about building that partnership, getting ourselves in and then taking the pacers down, and that was always the plan to try and take the pacers down,” she added.
De Klerk said she kept her thoughts simple while pacing the 54-ball innings, and was not trying to overhit the deliveries.
“It's my natural game. I've always been kind of an aggressive batter trying to take the game on. I think it was just about not trying to overhit the ball. I think simplicity is everything.
“I think today was just about really backing myself and just time the ball. It was quite a good wicket. So, I think it just worked out well, especially with the pacers,” she said.
With PTI Inputs