Unbeaten 81 from Kapp hands SA tense win over India

India 158/7 after batting first: Shafali Verma 31 off 15, Deepti Sharma 29, Harmanpreet Kaur 24 in her 200th T20I – first cricketer male or female to reach 200SA chase 159: Collapsed to 25/2 in Powerplay as N Sree Charani took a double-wicket maiden – caught Wolvaardt 20 and bowled Dercksen 0 two balls later. In a contest billed as the biggest of the group stage, South Africa took a big step towards the semi-final after Marizanne Kapp led them to a six-wicket win over India. She starred with ball and then with bat, helping South Africa recover from 25 for 2 inside the powerplay to hunt down 159 and combined with Tazmin Brits, playing her first match of the tournament, to take them to a six-wicket win. Kapp and Brits put on 97 for the third wicket but their time together was not without its chances. Kapp offered two tough chances, on 9 and 25, and one simple one on 65 but finished on an unbeaten 81 off 45 balls to take South Africa home. They also nullified India's primary threat with the ball, Deepti Sharma, taking 44 runs off her four overs. The Comeback: Kapp + Brits97-run 3rd wicket stand between Marizanne Kapp 81_ off 45 and Tazmin Brits 40 off 36 turned itKapp’s innings: Career-best 81_ with 7 fours, 4 sixes, SR 180. Reached 50 in 34 balls Given lives: Dropped by Radha Yadav on 25 and again on 65. Just when it seemed Shafali had got away from them, South Africa hit a stroke of luck. Ismail had avoided bowling the bouncer to her but did with the fourth ball of her second over. Shafali considered going after it but then tried to pull out of the shot and fell over. As she refound her feet, South Africa reviewed and replays showed Shafali had gloved the ball through to Sinalo Jafta. Yastika Bhatia, picked ahead of Bharti Fulmali, was out lbw to Ayabonga Khaka's second ball and Jemimah Rodrigues caught off a leading edge by Nadine de Klerk to leave India 82 for 4 in the 11th over. South Africa had a completely different start to their innings as they struggled to get India away, and their captain Laura Wolvaardt continued to struggle for fluency. She was on 20 off 19 balls when she tried to take on N Shree Charani. She hit the ball straight back to the left-arm spinner, who took a sharp return catch. Charani's over got better when Annerie Dercksen went for a big shot almost immediately, played across the line and was bowled. The powerplay ended with a wicket-maiden and South Africa were 25 for 2, well behind the required run-rate. Comeback win: SA were 25/2 and behind the rate before Kapp’s assault. Record chase: South Africa’s highest chase in Women’s T20 World Cups. Table impact: Puts SA 3rd in group behind India and Australia, keeps semis hopes alive. Captain’s praise: Laura Wolvaardt called it “probably one of the best knocks I’ve seen under so much pressure” Their headline moment came in the 15th over when they took 16 runs off Arundhati Reddy. Brits hit her back over her head for four, then Kapp scooped her over fine and swept her for back to back boundaries and South Africa had broken the back of the chase.