Alana King has delivered the greatest spell in World Cup history, taking seven wickets to lead Australia to a big win over South Africa and top spot on the table. Led by King’s 7-18, Australia were able to bowl South Africa out for 97 in Indore, before chasing down the victory target with seven wickets in hand and with 33 overs to spare.
The result means Australia will finish the round-robin stage of the ODI tournament undefeated and face hosts India in a semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday. South Africa will face England in the other semi-final, with Saturday’s clash always set to determine top spot on the ladder.
In all, the whole affair lasted a little over three hours as King spun a web around South Africa and showed why she is the best wrist spinner in the world right now. King’s figures marked the fifth best by any woman in an ODI, the best by any Australian woman, and the only time a woman has taken seven wickets in a World Cup match.
- Australian Associated Press
Tahlia McGrath’s verdict
That was good fun! How good was Kingy? It was pretty awesome – it felt like she’d take a wicket every ball. Super happy for her.
It’s awesome to get the job done and walk away with a bit of momentum going into the semi-finals.
Laura Wolvaardt’s reaction
Definitely not the way we wanted to end the group stages. Kingy bowled excellently – we spoke a lot about facing her and it didn’t quite go to plan. Hopefully in the semi-final we can have one or two players put their hands up.
This result means Australia finish top of the table with six wins and a washout from seven games. They will meet India in the second semi-final on Thursday.
The player of the match is - duh - Alana King
We thought the pitch might slide on a bit more but I’m happy to extract whatever I can from the wicket. As a bowler you always love wickets to your name but I know I can play different roles for the team.
Australia win by seven wickets with 199 balls remaining
16.5 overs: Australia 98-3 (Voll 38, Sutherland 10) Annabel Sutherland rushes Australia to victory with a frankly scary 199 balls to spare. They are an outrageously good team, and today Alana King demonstrated her greatness with a record-breaking spell of 7 for 18.
16th over: Australia 87-3 (Voll 37, Sutherland 0) That was the last ball of the over.
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WICKET! Australia 87-3 (Mooney c Wolvaardt b De Klerk 42)
Wolvaardt isn’t sure whether she’s taken a clean catch at short extra cover to dismiss Beth Mooney. It goes upstairs and the third umpire is satisfied that there are fingers under the ball, so Mooney is on her way for a breezy 42.
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15th over: Australia 83-2 (Voll 36, Mooney 39) Mooney clubs Mlaba over mid-off for four. South Africa’s finger-spinners are getting nothing like the turn King managed.
With 15 needed to win, it’s time for drinks.
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14th over: Australia 76-2 (Voll 35, Mooney 33) South Africa will play England in the first semi-final in Guwahati on Wednesday. The only thing we don’t know is who finishes second in the league stage and will therefore go through in the unlikely event of the semi-final being rained off.
13th over: Australia 73-2 (Voll 35, Mooney 30) Mooney shapes to reverse sweep Mlaba and ends up gloving the ball between the keeper’s legs for four. Voll heaves four more off the last ball to move Australia closer to victory.
12h over: Australia 61-2 (Voll 29, Mooney 24) Four more to Voll, slashes behind square off the new bowler Nadine de Klerk. Australia are romping to victory.
11th over: Australia 55-2 (Voll 24, Mooney 23) The left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba comes into the attack and is reverse swept deftly for four by Voll, who is playing really nicely.
This result, incidentally, means Australia will play India at Navi Mumbai in the second semi-final on Thursday.
10th over: Australia 49-2 (Voll 19, Mooney 22) A short ball from Klaas sits up nicely and is pulled effortlessly for four by Mooney. Australia have reached cruising speed, and they’re halfway to their target.
9th over: Australia 43-2 (Voll 19, Mooney 16) Khaka changes ends to replace Kapp. Mooney edges another boundary, then cuffs a more deliberate boundary through the covers. Voll joins in with a classy back-foot drive for four.
Australia started slowly but have hit 30 from the last three overs.
8th over: Australia 30-2 (Voll 15, Mooney 7) Mooney edges Klaas wide of slip for her first boundary, then drags a single round the corner to keep strike. Australia need 68 from – yikes – 42 overs to win.
7th over: Australia 24-2 (Voll 15, Mooney 2) Kapp finally concedes her first runs from her 20th delivery when Voll cracks an accomplished drive to the cover boundary. She follows that with a disdainful thump back over the bowler’s head for four more.
This is an important little innings for Voll, who would like a score in case she is needed for the semi-finals.
6th over: Australia 13-2 (Voll 7, Mooney 1) South Africa waste a review on an LBW appeal against Voll. You can understand why they’re so excited but that was missing leg by a fair distance.
“Yes, there’s plenty about Alana King on Wikipedia, but nowhere does it state that she’s a genius,” says John Starbuck. “That should be remedied.”
I thought Wikipedia dealt in cold, hard facts rather than opinions?
WICKET! Australia 11-2 (Perry c De Klerk b Klaas 0)
Oh what a catch! Perry tries to drive the new bowler Masabata Klaas and slices the ball to the left of De Klerk at backward point. She flies through to the air to take a fantastic two-handed catch, possibly the best of the entire World Cup.
De Klerk dropped a tough chance to dismiss Voll two overs ago; she’s taken a blinder to get rid of Perry.
5th over: Australia 11-1 (Voll 6, Perry 0) This is an outstanding start from Kapp, who has yet to concede a run after three overs. A maiden to Vill gives her figures of 3-3-0-1.
4th over: Australia 11-1 (Voll 6, Perry 0) Voll is dropped! She slapped Khaka towards backward point, where the leaping De Klerk couldn’t hang on a very tough one-handed chance. She’s shaking her hand in disappointment but it would have been a blinder.
3rd over: Australia 6-1 (Voll 1, Perry 0) A wicket maiden for Kapp. The wicket was her 39th at a World Cup, which puts her second on the all-time list – level with Megan Schutt and Lyn Fullston, four behind Jhulan Goswami.
WICKET! Australia 6-1 (Litchfield c Tryon b Kapp 5)
Phoebe Litchfield falls cheaply for the second game in a row. She chased a full, wide delivery from Marizanne Kapp and was smartly caught by Chloe Tryon at slip.
2nd over: Australia 6-0 (Litchfield 5, Voll 1) Litchfield drives Ayabonga Khaka over mid-off for the first boundary of the innings. That’s a fine shot, quite emphatic.
Two Australian players 'touched inappropriately' in Indore
An unpleasant story has emerged during this game. Two Australian players were touched inappropriately by a member of the public while walking to a cafe on Thursday; the matter has been reported to the police.
1st over: Australia 0-0 (Litchfield 0, Voll 0) Marizanne Kapp, who may or may be internally fuming at the predicament South Africa find themselves in, starts with a very accurate maiden to Phoebe Litchfield.
“Good afternoon,” writes John Starbuck. “If Alana King is the definition of ‘genius’ (and I don’t disagree) maybe you should take a leaf out of today’s Guardian Saturday Magazine and enter her career into Wikipedia? A great many cricket followers read it, you know.”
Surely she’s already on Wikipedia? Or are you talking chapter and verse, every bowling performance from the age of 12?
Thanks Megan, hello everyone. Don’t know about you, but I’m struggling to find words for that Alana King performance: 7-2-18-7, the best figures at a Women’s World Cup and for Australia in women’s ODIs. She’s the dictionary definition of a genius.
Well, that’s it from me today – I had a lot of fun guiding you through that record-breaking Alana King performance. I’m handing over to the wonderful Rob Smyth now, who will see you home through Australia’s batting innings.
A little snippet of that King brilliance in case you haven’t had the chance to see it yet:
First seven-wicket haul in the Women's @cricketworldcup belongs to Alana King 👸
— ICC (@ICC) October 25, 2025
Watch #AUSvSA LIVE in your region, #CWC25 broadcast details here ➡️ https://t.co/7wsR28PFHI pic.twitter.com/nrMCev70t8
South Africa set Australia 98 for victory
Well, what a dominant bowling performance from Australia, led of course by Alana King, who finishes with figures of 7-18. This gives her the best figures in a Women’s World Cup, as well as the best figures by an Australian woman in ODIs, beating Ellyse Perry (7-22) and her coach Shelley Nitschke (7-24). A hugely impressive spell from the legspinner, South Africa just didn’t have any answers for her today. The opening bowlers Schutt and Garth chipped in with a wicket each, and Gardner picked up one late in the innings.
South Africa will be incredibly disappointed with their batting. Wolvaardt got them off to a good start, showing intent and seeming to score with ease early on. But when she chipped one to King off Schutt’s bowling with a pretty unnecessary shot, her team struggled to regather themselves. Only Jafta put up a fight after that, with some nice boundary hitting. But the regularity with which King was picking up wickets made it very difficult to create any momentum and in the end, they couldn’t crack the 100 runs.
This chase should not be a concern for the Australians, but stranger things have happened! Stay tuned for the next innings to see how they go about it…
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WICKET! de Klerk b King 14 (South Africa 97-10)
King gets her seventh wicket and puts an emphatic end to the innings, getting some turn off the pitch and bowling de Klerk. She has been outstanding today.
23rd over: South Africa 95-9 (Mlaba 0, de Klerk 8)
de Klerk starts the over with a tickle of an edge that races away past fine leg for four, then gets a single that puts Khaka on strike, which gives Gardner a chance to strike! Mlaba plays a solid defensive shot to finish the over.
WICKET! Khaka b Gardner 0 (South Africa 95-9)
Gardner gets into the wicket-taking mix, sliding one past the edge of Khaka’s bat and taking out off stump.
22nd over: South Africa 90-8 (Khaka 0, de Klerk 8)
King resumes and starts with yet more dots. Her spell has been so inspirational that my 11yo daughter has just decided to switch from pace to legspin while sitting in the loungeroom watching it. de Klerk manages a single from the last ball of the over to keep the strike.
21st over: South Africa 89-8 (Khaka 0, de Klerk 7)
Khaka doesn’t take long to face her first ball, with de Klerk rotating the strike early in Gardner’s over. But Khaka can’t do more than play defensively – another tidy over from Gardner with just one run coming from it.
20th over: South Africa 88-8 (Khaka 0, de Klerk 5)
Some more King, much to the delight of the crowd, especially the ones with the “I’m just here for Alana King” sign. She delights them even further by taking her sixth wicket to finish the over.
WICKET! Klaas b King 4 (South Africa 88-8)
You can’t keep King out of this match, Klaas tries to defend, but King goes straight through her and takes out leg stump.
19th over: South Africa 86-7 (Klaas 3, de Klerk 5)
Gardner comes back for her second over Klaas pops one up in the air, but it falls safely. She bowls a wide, which is unusual in that it’s the first extra in the match so far. Other than that, it’s a tidy over from her.
18th over: South Africa 82-7 (Klaas 1, de Klerk 4)
King continues her spell and Jafta really is built different, because she drives her straight back over her head for four, then gets one just past the slip for another four. But King isn’t willing to let another ball of this “scoring runs” nonsense pass and next ball she has her bowled. Klaas is in to try to stay with de Klerk and see what they can rebuilt.
WICKET! Jafta b King 29 (South Africa 81-7)
Jafta gets down to try to sweep, but the turn evades her and takes out off stump.
17th over: South Africa 73-6 (Jafta 21, de Klerk 4)
Gardner bowls her first over and Jafta starts it very positively, again guiding it between point and gully for a four, followed by a slog over midwicket for another boundary. Gardner fights back with some fuller balls, pushing Jafta back into defensive mode.
16th over: South Africa 64-6 (Jafta 12, de Klerk 4)
King continues and almost immediately takes a wicket, then another. She is just getting better with every match. The hat trick ball is the first runs scored against her all match, with de Klerk guiding it down to the boundary to get off the mark.
WICKET! Tryon c Gardner b King 0 (South Africa 60-6)
King is on a hat trick – Tryon just chips it straight to Gardner at midwicket and she can’t believe her luck!
WICKET! Dercksen b King 5 (South Africa 60-5)
Dercksen tries to play defensively, but King has her absolutely bamboozled with straight delivery that turns just enough to slide past her bat and take out leg stump.
15th over: South Africa 60-4 (Jafta 12, Dercksen 5)
Jafta opens her account with a lovely shot through deep backward point for four, opening the face of the bat and using the speed of the ball to guide it to the boundary. She finds that same gap again a few balls later, just leaning on it and exploiting the gap between point and gully beautifully, before following it up with a boundary on the other side. A great over for Jafta!
14th over: South Africa 48-4 (Jafta 0, Dercksen 5)
King continues after a brilliant first over and Dercksen immediately looks uncomfortable. She’s just not quite picking the spin and is struggling to get bat on ball. There’s nearly a run out late in the over when there’s a slight fumble in the field and Dercksen wants to run and is sent back, but Mooney and Voll can’t quite get their act together to hit the stumps before she’s back in her crease.
13th over: South Africa 48-4 (Jafta 0, Dercksen 5)
Sutherland continues and there’s an appeal for LBW on the first ball, but the umpire isn’t interested. Dercksen gets her first boundary with a slog past long on. Jafta defends out the over, keen to settle things down after a couple of wickets lost in quick succession.
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12th over: South Africa 43-4 (Jafta 0, Dercksen 0)
Our first look at spin for the match, with King coming into the attack. She has been sensational so far this World Cup, making it very difficult for the opposition to score against. However Luus thinks she’s built different and almost immediately goes after King and loses her wicket, bringing Kapp to the crease. Kapp hits one back to her, but unfortunately she is the shortest player on the team and it flies over her head. But she doesn’t last much longer, edging one to Garth next ball.
WICKET! Kapp c Garth b King 0 (South Africa 43-4)
Oh dear, things are not going well for South Africa now. Kapp edges one to Garth and she’s gone for a duck.
WICKET! Luus c Sutherland b King 6 (South Africa 43-3)
Luus tries to attack King early and only succeeds in top edging it straight up in the air, into the safe, waiting hands of Sutherland.
11th over: South Africa 43-2 (Luus 6, Dercksen 0)
Sutherland comes on for her first over of the match, replacing Schutt. Luus turns the strike over early, but Dercksen has a little more trouble, only able to get the ball to the fielders and unable to rotate the strike.
10th over: South Africa 42-2 (Luus 5, Dercksen 0)
Garth continues her spell and gets a breakthrough on her second ball, with Brits not able to find her way out of her early troubles and forced to depart for just six. Dercksen takes a little while to get her eye in, seeming to have some difficulty picking the length that Garth is bowling at. It’s a wicket maiden for Garth.
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WICKET! Brits lbw Garth 6 (South Africa 42-2)
Brits gets down attempting to sweep, but the ball hits her in the sternum, which to be fair is an odd way to get out leg before wicket. She reviews, but the decision is upheld.
9th over: South Africa 42-1 (Luus 5, Brits 6)
Schutt continues her miserly ways bowling very good line and length and finishing up with another maiden.
8th over: South Africa 42-1 (Luus 5, Brits 6)
Brits finally gets her second run off the first ball of Garth’s over, driving to deep backward point and scurrying through. There’s a bit of rain falling at the moment, let’s hope that gets right out of here very soon before it forces us off the field. Brits also gets her first boundary late in the over, with a flick past deep midwicket.
7th over: South Africa 36-1 (Luus 4, Brits 1)
Another over from Schutt and she picks up where she left off, with good line and length, forcing Wolvaardt to play defensively. After a few dots, Wolvaardt gets a little frustrated and chips one up to King, bringing Luus out to bat, starting with a streaky edge through Mooney’s legs to get off the mark with a four.
WICKET! Wolvaardt c King b Schutt (South Africa 32-1)
A fantastic diving catch from King at short midwicket and Wolvaardt has to go.
6th over: South Africa 32-0 (Wolvaardt 31, Brits 1)
Garth continues and Wolvaardt defends the first ball back to her. But then she finds a ball she likes, beating a diving Georgia Voll at backward point for four. Then she edges another one that looks almost catchable, but it flies over Voll’s head for another four. Garth tidies up her length a little and stops the flow of boundaries for the time being.
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5th over: South Africa 23-0 (Wolvaardt 22, Brits 1)
Wolvaardt back on strike to Schutt and she starts with another glorious cover drive, but this one is just a single. Brits is starting to look a little frustrated at her inability to find runs. She’s getting plenty of bat on ball, but she can’t pierce the infield. A good recovery from Schutt after her last over, just one run from this one.
4th over: South Africa 22-0 (Wolvaardt 21, Brits 1)
A muted appeal for LBW midway through Garth’s second over, but it’s more wishful thinking than anything else. Brits hasn’t had much strike so far this match and she’s finding Garth’s length a little uncomfortable at the moment. After that huge last over, it’s a maiden this over – swings and roundabouts.
3rd over: South Africa 22-0 (Wolvaardt 21, Brits 1)
Another over from Schutt and Wolvaardt starts it with a thick inside edge that runs away for four and then follows it up with a square drive for a second consecutive boundary. Schutt fights back with a fuller delivery for a dot, but then Wolvaardt chases after a wider one and gets an under edge under Mooney’s gloves and flying away to the fine leg boundary. A cutter from Schutt gets another dot, but Wolvaardt finishes the over with yet another four.
2nd over: South Africa 6-0 (Wolvaardt 5, Brits 1)
No surprises here from captain McGrath, it’s Kim Garth on to open from the other end, as has been the case in most of Australia’s matches. Brits is able to get off the mark immediately, with a drive to deep backward point. Wolvaardt takes more of a liking to Garth’s bowling and plays her trademark beautiful cover drive for the first boundary of the match. Mooney looks to be in a little bit of pain, we’ll keep an eye on that.
1st over: South Africa 0-0 (Wolvaardt 0, Brits 0)
Megan Schutt takes the new ball to open the bowling for Australia and Wolvaardt starts things off safely, with two dot balls gently pushed to short midwicket, before defending one back to Schutt. She then goes for a big pull shot, but it’s straight to Perry at midwicket and she can manage a run from it. A maiden to start for Schutt!
The teams are out on the field for anthems now – not long to go before the first ball.
If you’d like to keep an eye on the men’s ODI between Australia and India in another tab, we’ve got you covered there – check out our OBO here:
Just one change to the Australian line up from that win over England, with Georgia Wareham coming in for Sophie Molineux – the two have pretty well alternated throughout the tournament, so that’s not unexpected.
For South Africa, Sinalo Jafta comes in for Karaba Meso, while Masabata Klaas replaces Nondumiso Shangase.
South Africa XI
1. Laura Wolvaardt (c)
2. Tazmin Brits
3. Sune Luus
4. Annerie Dercksen
5. Marizanne Kapp
6. Sinalo Jafta (wk)
7. Chloe Tryon
8. Nadine de Klerk
9. Ayabonga Khaka
10. Masabata Klaas
11. Nonkululeko Mlaba
Australia XI
1. Phoebe Litchfield
2. Georgia Voll
3. Ellyse Perry
4. Beth Mooney (wk)
5. Annabel Sutherland
6. Ash Gardner
7. Tahlia McGrath (c)
8. Georgia Wareham
9. Alana King
10. Kim Garth
11. Megan Schutt
Updated
Australia win the toss and elect to bowl
Tahlia McGrath did the toss for Australia, so that lets you know that Healy is out! McGrath says they’re taking it day by day with her recovery at the moment. McGrath says their decision to bowl was based on it being more difficult to bat under lights.
In wider squad-related news, it was announced today that Australian quick Tayla Vlaeminck will miss the WBBL this season with an ongoing shoulder injury. The fast bowler has been in and out of the Australian team with a very long injury list over the years.
Tayla Vlaeminck is shattered to miss the bus on WBBL return as her rehab continues: https://t.co/yy1wvAp7YT pic.twitter.com/m41mWZCCjn
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 25, 2025
News from the field is that Georgia Voll is warming up, which most people are taking to mean that she will again play for Healy. The captain reportedly had a light training session yesterday, but it seems like Australia will play it safe with her and give her more time to recover before the semis.
While we’re waiting for the toss, why not take some time to review Australia’s match against England from Wednesday, with this insightful match report from Raf Nicholson?
Preamble
Hello and welcome to match 26 of the Women’s World Cup. Today we’ve got the undefeated defending champions Australia taking on South Africa, who had an absolute horror start to the tournament, ending up all out for 69 against England in their first match. But from there, they have rallied and won their next five games, currently sitting in second on the ladder. They haven’t looked convincing in every moment, but they have done what is needed to win.
Australia similarly have had some scratchy wins and got very close to dropping a match on a few occasions, but they have always been able to find someone to dig them out of trouble. Even being forced to play without their captain Alyssa Healy in their last match against England did not cause too many problems, thanks to a stunning partnership from Annabel Sutherland and Ash Gardner.
Today’s game is the last pool match for both teams and while both have secured their semi finals positions, there is still plenty to play for.
For Australia, going through the pool rounds undefeated will be the aim, while for South Africa, a win over the reigning world champions would boost their confident going into the elimination rounds and wipe all memories of their disastrous beginning.
It’s sure to be a fascinating game, so let’s get into it!
