Pitch and Weather
The surface at the Holkar Stadium in Indore is known for its batting-friendly nature, especially in the first innings. It will be a hard surface, even bounce, with lightning-fast outfield.
The weather in Indore on Monday will be mostly sunny, with the temperature hovering around 29 degrees Celsius.
Toss
South Africa won the toss and decided to bowl first.
Lineups
NZ-W XI: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (C), Brooke Halliday, Maddy Green, Isabella Gaze (WK), Jess Kerr, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson, and Bree Illing.
SA-W XI: Laura Wolvaardt (C), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Sinalo Jaffa (WK), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka, and Nonkululeko Mlaba.
Match Report
South Africa Women won the toss and asked New Zealand Women to bat first. The White Ferns had a brilliant start of 68 runs for the first wicket in 12.4 overs by the opening pair of Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer. Masabata Klaas broke this partnership by dismissing Plimmer, getting her caught by skipper Laura Wolvaardt. Following Plimmer’s departure, Suzie Bates added another partnership of 66 runs for the second wicket with Amelia Kerr before the former valiant knock of 84-run knock, hitting nine fours and a six, came to an end in the 29th over. She fell prey to Ayabonga Khaka. Then came another game-changing partnership of 87 runs for the third wicket between Amelia Kerr and skipper Sophie Devine. Kerr went on to score an amazing century, hitting 104 runs off just 88 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes. Furthermore, Devine scored 41 runs off 28 balls, with three fours and three sixes. On the back of these knocks, New Zealand Women managed to post a total of 311/6 on the board in the allotted 50 overs. Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Klaas, and Sune Luus scalped two wickets each.
While chasing the target, the opening pair of Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits added an important 93 runs for the first wicket in 14.5 overs before Brits was dismissed off Tahuhu on the fifth ball of the 15th over. Brits scored 52 runs off 47 balls, with seven fours and a six. After Brits, Wolvaardt stitched another crucial 52-run partnership for the second wicket. This partnership came to an end when Carson managed to beat Sune Luus (31) with her flight. Wolvaardt stood there and added another 53-run partnership with Marizanne Kapp (45) for the third wicket. Wolvaardt led the side with her exemplary knock of 78 runs off 89 balls, with eight fours and a six. Later in the innings, Anneke Bosch and Nadine de Klerk scored 24 and 27 runs, respectively. However, these efforts couldn’t be enough for South Africa as they fell just seven runs short of the target, getting restricted to the score of 305/9 in the entire 50 overs. Lea Tahuthu, Jess Kerr, and Sophie Devine claimed two wickets each to help NZ Women win the game by a narrow margin, by six runs. With this win, the White Ferns have also registered their first win in the ongoing Women’s World Cup 2025.
Player of the Match
New Zealand Women’s batter Amelia Kerr won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for her match-winning century as she smashed 104 runs off just 88, with 10 fours and two sixes.
Scorecard