New Zealand vs South Africa Highlights, Women's World Cup 2025: Tazmin Brits’ brilliant century guides SA to commanding win over NZ

Jess Kerr to Sune Luus, WIDE! Goodness me! A flurry of extras already from Kerr, who is in her third over. Goes down leg, and swings further down. Luus leaves.

Jess Kerr to Sune Luus, WIDE! Spilled miles outside the tramline, on the off side. Wided.

Jess Kerr to Sune Luus, Excellent stop! Outside off and full, Sune Luus smashes it to pierce backward point and cover gap, but Eden Carson dives to her right and makes a fine stop. Been a good over so far, barring that extra! 

Jess Kerr to Sune Luus, Full and straight, outside off, Luus leans on and caresses it straight to cover.

Jess Kerr to Sune Luus, Nagging length, swinging into the batter from outside off. Sune Luus stands tall and chops it onto the pitch, trying to cut it square.

Jess Kerr to Sune Luus, WIDE! Swings down leg, full in length, Luus tries to steer it away but misses. Called a Wide. Good take by Izzy Gaze behind the sticks, to her left.

Jess Kerr to Sune Luus, Full and outside off. Luus covers the stumps and knocks it to cover-point.

Bree Illing to Tazmin Brits, The stumps are attacked, on a length. Blocked off the front foot by Brits.

Bree Illing to Sune Luus, Bowls from a wider angle, does Bree, and sprays onto the pads. Sune Luus misses to flick and the ball deflects behind to deep fine leg for a leg bye.

Bree Illing to Sune Luus, BEATEN! On a length, slanting across the batter, outside off. Sune Luus leans back and tries to cut it square, but the ball bounces to beat her angled bat.

Bree Illing to Sune Luus, Angling outside off, on a good length. Sune Luus plays from the crease and blocks off the inner half of the bat.

Bree Illing to Tazmin Brits, Hasty! Back of a length, around off, Brits punches off the back foot to mid off and calls for a single. The mid off fielder is quick to pick and throw at the bowler's end, but misses to score a direct hit, which allows Brits to skate to the other end.

Bree Illing to Tazmin Brits, Aims the middle pole, curves in, tucked to mid-wicket.

Bree Illing to Tazmin Brits, WIDE! Miles outside off, across the tramline. Brits leaves. Wide called.

Jess Kerr to Sune Luus, Short of a length, tailing in from outside off. Luus gets on the back foot to block.

Sune Luus is in at 3.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, OUT! LBW! Fantastic review, and Jess Kerr, after a scratchy start, gets a huge wicket early doors. Generates a big inswinger into the batter on a fuller length, angling at the pads from wide of the crease. Laura Wolvaardt gets half-forward and plays over the wrong line. The ball flirts with the inside edge before thudding her front pad. A very loud appeal for LBW, but not given! Sophie Devine chats with the bowler and the keeper before going upstairs for a review. UltraEdge comes up, and after several close checks, the third umpire is satisfied that it is missing to graze the inside edge. Ball Tracking comes up and shows three reds with the ball projected to crash into the leg stump. South Africa Women lose their skipper as Laura Wolvaardt departs for 14 (10). The Proteas are 26/1.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, Overpitched, on off, carved out to the off side.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, FOUR! Races away! Outside off, on a fuller length. Laura Wolvaardt strides forward and deliberately opens the bat face very late. Guides the ball fine, to the left of short third and the ball beats the chase of the running fielder to breach the fence.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, Swings in from outside off, pushed back firmly to the bowler.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, FOUR! Gloriousness personified! Straight out of the coach's manual! Full and outside off. Laura Wolvaardt makes full use of the width on offer. Extends the front foot forward and drives it crisply through the cover and mid off gap for a cracking boundary.

Bree Illing to Tazmin Brits, Shortish delivery, straight on off. Brits punches it back to the bowler. 9 off the first, 9 off the second as well. This has been a very positive start for the Proteas. 

Bree Illing to Tazmin Brits, FOUR! Threads it through! Back of a length from Illing, around off. Tazmin Brits stands tall, transfers the weight on the back foot and cuts it between cover and cover-point for a boundary.

Bree Illing to Tazmin Brits, Around the stumps, full and on off. Tazmin Brits smashes it to the right of mid off. Suzie Bates dives in that direction and stops it.

Bree Illing to Tazmin Brits, Full and outside off, going away with the angle. Brits barely moves her feet and tries to slash away, and ends up missing to lay any bat on the ball.

Bree Illing to Tazmin Brits, EDGED, FOUR! Streaky! This one keeps nibbling away with the angle, on a length, outside off. Tazmin Brits tries to punch it on the rise, but gets a thick outside edge and the ball shoots between the first slip fielder and short third for a boundary.

Bree Illing to Laura Wolvaardt, Angled across off on a hard length. Laura Wolvaardt hangs back and punches off the toe end towards widish cover for a quick single.

Bree Illing will bowl from the other end.

Jess Kerr to Tazmin Brits, Huge inswinger on the pads. Brits works this full ball to mid-wicket off the inner half of the bat. Finishes the over with a dot, does Jess! 9 off the opener!

Jess Kerr to Tazmin Brits, Inswinger full and on middle. Tazmin Brits gets forward and forces it back to the bowler.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, Slides onto the pads, on a good length. Laura Wolvaardt hangs back and tucks it with soft hands to deep square leg for an easy single.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, Controls the swing as this tails into the middle stump line, on a length. Laura Wolvaardt plays with a straight bat and defends it out to extra cover.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, WIDE! Been a long over already. On a length, swinging down leg. Wide called.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, FOUR! First runs off the bat in the chase! Jess hurls it on a fuller length, wide outside off. Laura Wolvaardt feasts on it by smashing it through cover and point for a cracking boundary. The Proteas skipper is off the mark!

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, WIDE! Dear me! Third of the over! This time, she spills it miles outside off, beyond the tramline. Wolvaardt leaves. 

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, WIDE! Slides down leg, on a good length. Laura leaves. Izzy Gaze gathers it safely to her left. Another extra!

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, Much better now! Tails in from outside off, on a fullish length. Laura Wolvaardt brings her bat in front of the pads and knocks it to mid on.

Jess Kerr to Laura Wolvaardt, WIDE! A loosener to start! Down leg on a length. Laura misses to flick. Wide given. The innings of South Africa Women get underway with an extra.

Back for the chase! The players of New Zealand Women walk out and form a final huddle, led by their skipper, Sophie Devine, before they disperse to take their respective positions. Also, the two openers of South Africa Women stride out, where the skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, will open the innings alongside Tazmin Brits. Jess Kerr has the new ball in her hands, and she will start the proceedings. With the keeper up to the stumps, Kerr to Laura. Here we go...

... The Run Chase ...

Now, what’s next? South Africa’s chase looks straightforward, but we’ve seen funny things happen before. The pitch has slowed down a touch, so shot timing might be tricky. Can the White Ferns’ bowlers use that to their advantage? Or will the Proteas’ top order take full charge and cruise home? With dew possibly helping the chase, this could be over if South Africa’s batters cash in during the Powerplay and make the most of the fielding restrictions. It’s going to be a fascinating second half. Strap in!

Brooke Halliday of New Zealand is up for a chat with the broadcasters. She mentions that being a left-hander forces bowlers to adjust their lines and lengths, something she felt worked in her favour today. Adds that her focus was simply on watching the ball closely and reacting accordingly, a plan that, as she puts it, paid off nicely this time. Speaking about Devine’s performance, she notes that Sophie is quite a relaxed character, something she believes might surprise many. She adds that there isn’t much chatter between them in the middle, calling it a pleasant experience to share the crease with someone like her. Comparing the pitch to the previous game, Brooke opines that it feels quite similar, though a touch on the slower side this time. Details that the balls that are on the stumps are not bouncing much. Shares that they have been in Indore for a week now and have had a fair bit of chance to study how the wickets play. Stresses that if their bowlers hit the stumps often and keep it simple, by setting the field a bit straighter, it might be effective. She thinks that they have a decent total on the board and says that their bowling attack has been very strong. Admits that they would have loved to get in excess of 250, but believes that 231 is defendable on this track.

The numbers? Devine’s 85 off 98 was pure class, and Halliday’s blitz added spark. But Mlaba’s 4/40 was the real act - her best performance in ODIs against the Kiwis. Kapp was steady as ever with 1/34, and Khaka backed her up with tight lines. Add those 21 extras from South Africa (19 Wides), though, and that’s the only thing they’ll want to tidy up. Still, that 7-for-43 collapse in the final overs? That’s the stuff that would have puffed the confidence in the Proteas.

The Devine-Halliday duo was pure entertainment! Halliday came in swinging, scoring a rapid 45 off just 37 balls, adding a crucial 86-run partnership that had the Kiwis dreaming of 270-plus at least. But then, the twist came in - Nonkululeko Mlaba, the left-arm spinner, turned the game on its head, cleaning up Halliday, then Devine, and picking two more along the way. Four wickets for Mlaba and all at the right time. From 187/3 in the 39th over, New Zealand suddenly crumbled to 231 all out. It is a collapse because of a masterclass in bowling control and comeback execution.

Enter Sophie Devine - the woman of milestones and magic. Playing her 300th international game, she carried the same fire that saw her score a ton in the last match against Australia Women. She played with control, timing, and confidence - a true skipper’s knock. But, the support at the other end? Georgia Plimmer’s innings were all dot balls and deep breaths. She simply couldn’t break free, which built pressure that eventually burst when she threw her wicket away after a slow 31 from 68 balls. Still, Devine stood tall, her bat doing all the talking, and soon, Brooke Halliday joined the party with fireworks.

Devine won the toss and chose to bat, hoping to set the tone early. But boom! On the very first ball, Marizanne Kapp struck gold - Suzie Bates, playing her 350th international match, was gone for a golden duck. Talk about drama! Amelia Kerr and Georgia Plimmer tried rebuilding, threading a few sweet boundaries through the gaps. But just when it looked like they were settling, Kerr fell to de Klerk. At 44/2, the White Ferns were wobbling. The Proteas’ bowlers kept it tight, not giving much away, and New Zealand’s early momentum? It was still warming up.

A Collapse? Surely! What looked like a mountain of runs halfway through suddenly turned into a mini landslide! New Zealand, cruising at one stage with Sophie Devine and Brooke Halliday in charge, have been bundled out for 231 with 13 balls still to be left to play. The Proteas, who seemed under pressure earlier, bounced back like pros to take full control of the match. South Africa have walked into the break with smiles all around, while New Zealand will be scratching their heads - as to what just happened with them? From 187/3 to Is 231/10? Hmm, a big collapse as they lost seven wickets for just 44 runs.

Ayabonga Khaka to Eden Carson, OUT! EDEN CARSON IS RUN OUT! Too full and around off. Eden Carson uses her bottom hand and chips it over mid off. Nadine De Klerk from long on runs across to her right and dives to cut it off. The ball is flicked towards the converging mid off fielder, Anneke Bosch, who throws it back towards the bowler. The batters complete the second run and try to pinch in the third, but Carson, running at the danger end, has to put in a desperate dive to drag the bat in. Ayabonga Khaka collects the ball and breaks the stumps. The on-field umpire does not feel the need to go upstairs and is confident as she raises her finger. The replays too, confirm that Carson is short of her crease. NEW ZEALAND WOMEN HAVE BEEN BOWLED OUT ON 231 IN 47.5 OVERS!

Ayabonga Khaka to Bree Illing, Pushed wide outside off, on a fullish length. Bree Illing drives it to deep point for a single.

Ayabonga Khaka to Bree Illing, At 99.5 kph, full and wide on off. Bree Illing tries to slog across the line, but misses.