Match report
Harmanpreet lifts the trophy at last. A shower of gold fireworks shoots into the sky. There’s gold tickertape too, and the voice of Freddie Mercury.
“We are the champions,” he sings. And then the worst line in any Queen song: “no time for losers”. The OBO will always have time for losers, or as we prefer to call them, runners-up.
Thanks for your company, correspondence and views on all sorts of things throughout this World Cup. It’s been a blast.
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When the first cricket World Cup was held, it was the women’s one in 1973. And India didn’t even enter. There were only six teams, and four nations – England, Australia, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, with two more teams (an International XI and Young England) making up the numbers. We’ve come a long way.
The Indians collect their medals
“And now it’s time to put a brand new name on the trophy,” says Mel Jones. The Indian players go up, one by one, to receive their winners’ medals. The crowd raise a few cheers, though most of them may well have headed home as it’s now 12.45am in Navi Mumbai. The popular vote looks like being won by Jemi Rodrigues – then by Shafali Verma, until she in turn is out-acclaimed by Harmanpreet Kaur. The people have spoken.
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India played brilliant cricket, says Wolvaardt
“I couldn’t be prouder of this team,” says Wolvaardt, with a sad half-smile. “Unfortunately we were outplayed today – India played brilliant cricket… We were hoping for a little more swing early on, and we were in it for a lot of the chase, but just lost too many wickets… [In the field] I was checking that scoreboard and they [India] were tracking for a 350. Our back end was amazing.”
Spare a thought for the South Africans, who are now going up to collect their runners-up medals. They did eceptionally well to reach the final, giving England a battering, and they kept the final bubbling until the end. Their captain Laura Wolvaardt, at 26, is already a World Cup all-time great. A list of the top ten scorers in the women’s World Cup (over a career) shows that she is second, behind only Debbie Hockley and ahead of legends like Charlotte Edwards and Belinda Clark. Wolvaardt has played 24 World Cup matches, the fewest of any woman on that list.
Apparently there are men who play cricket, too. Here’s an update on two of them.
Deepti Sharma is not going home empty-handed. She will soon have a winner’s medal, and first she collects the trophy for the Player of the Tournament. She has taken 21 wickets with her off-breaks – more than anybody else – and seven of those came in the semi and the final, when push came to shove.
Shafali Verma is being interviewed, in Hindi (I presume). Which suggests that she is the Player of the Match. Fair enough – she set the tone with a fluent 87, then popped up with two wickets when she had only ever taken one before in ODIs. But India had more than one heroine. It could just as well have been Deepti Sharma for taking five wickets, or Harmanpreet Kaur for conducting the orchestra.
This result should make the world a slightly better place. It’s a world in which India looms large – the only real superpower in cricket (with apologies to Australia’s women, all-powerful until the other day). And it’s a world in which sportswomen in many countries still face all kinds of battles that don’t arise for their male counterparts.
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It is, by the way, past midnight in Navi Mumbai. It’s been a long-day international. The start was delayed for two hours by rain, another element that could have played havoc with the players’ nerves. Further rain was forecast, but it had the good grace to keep away from the ground.
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India lost as many of their group games as they won (three apiece). But they beat Australia in the semi-final, which was like climbing Everest before it became fashionable. And then, when they could have had an anti-climax, they held their nerve in the final, first making nearly 300, then clinging on to most of their catches, fielding sharply on the ground, and bowling well enough to win the match by 52 runs. They are worthy winners of the World Cup.
The screen is awash with tears. The London sky is ablaze with fireworks. They could be for Guy Fawkes but I like to think they’re for Harmanpreet Kaur and her merry women.
de Klerk c Harmanpreet b Sharma 18 (SA 246 all out)
It was Harmanpreet, India’s captain, who ran back from cover to hold the catch. It was Deepti Sharma, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, who took her fifth wicket of the day. And it is India who win their first women’s World Cup. South Africa were good, with an immense display from their captain Laura Wolvaardt, but not quite good enough. What a game!
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INDIA WIN THE WORLD CUP!
And after all those drops, it’s a great catch!
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WICKET! Khaka run out 1 (SA 246-9)
45th over: South Africa 246-9 (de Klerk 18, Mlaba o) Charani continues … and de Klerk whacks her for four through midwicket. That wasn’t a bad ball but the next one is – loose, down the leg side, and it goes for five wides! Then there’s another wide, and another four! Stroked away by de Klerk, with so much composure it’s almost chilling. And then … Khaka is run out! Not by much, and she didn’t seem to see the danger as de Klerk, predictably, called her for a quick single off the last ball of the over. Oh dear.
44th over: South Africa 232-8 (de Klerk 10, Khaka 1) South Africa are leading the way today for dropped catches, winning 5-2. Or they were! India drop two in two balls. First Khaka gives a caught-and-bowled chance to Renuka, who psills it to her left. Then de Klerk swings for the fences, picks out Rodrigues and gets away with it as the ball pops out. I just don’t know what’s going off out there. SA need 67 off six overs.
“Great work,” says Glenn Walton. Thank you. “What a game! ODIs generate tension and anxiety for the armchair fan like no other format. Come on you Proteas!”
43rd over: South Africa 229-8 (de Klerk 8, Khaka 0) It’s not over, Nasser is saying, till Nadine de Klerk is out. Facing Charani, she rises to the occasion with two, four, one. The two was streaky, a miscue into the leg side, but the four was a fine sweep. Her partner, Ayabonga Khaka, is not so fluent, prodding at thin air as Charani keeps on finding some turn outside off.
SA need 70 off seven overs. If they had seven wickets left, you might back them.
42nd over: South Africa 221-8 (de Klerk 1, Khaka 0) Hats off to Deepti Sharma, who has two wickets in the over, four for 39 in the match and 21 wickets in the tournament – the most by anybody. SA need 78 off eight overs, so the rate has shot up to 9.75 and SA’s chances have dwindled to virtually nil.
WICKET! Tryon LBW b Sharma 9 (SA 221-7)
And another! Tryon is rapped on the pad in line with leg stump. It’s given … and it’s umpire’s call! This over has surely won the match.
WICKET!! Wolvaardt c Amanjot b Sharma 101 (SA 220-7)
At long last, Laura Wolvaardt is out. She gets under a big hit and Amanjot, running in from deep midwicket, has it … then she fumbles it, then she grabs it! You couldn’t make it up.
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41st over: South Africa 220-6 (Wolvaardt 101, Tryon 9) Chloe Tryon has been in fluent form and she shows it with a well-timed force for four, followed by a two in the same direction. And another! SA need 79 from nine overs at a rate of 8.77.
40th over: South Africa 211-6 (Wolvaardt 100, Tryon 1) So, ten overs left. And SA need 88, so they’ve got to rattle along at nearly nine an over with only four wickets left – and Wolvaardt surely flagging a bit. What a fantastic feat it will be, if she can pull it off.
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A hundred to Laura Wolvaardt!
A hundred in the semi, a hundred in the final! She pushes a single and barely celebrates at all. The girl stood on the burning deck.
WICKET! Dercksen b Sharma 35 (SA 209-6)
Deepti makes the breakthrough! With a yorker, on off stump, which sneaks under Dercksen’s flashing blad. She was very good while she lasted.
39th over: South Africa 207-5 (Wolvaardt 98, Dercksen 34) Harmanpreet continues to show faith in Shafali, and this time it’s not repaid. As Shafali goes too short and then too full, Wolvaardt helps herself to a cut for four (helped by a misfield) and a drive for four more.
Fifty partnership!
38th over: South Africa 198-5 (Wolvaardt 90, Dercksen 33) Deepti Sharma comes back and goes for only four off the over, so the rate required is about 8.5. But these two bring up their fifty partnership, a hell of an achievement in the pressure of a World Cup final.
For some mysterious reason, Freed From Desire rings out over the PA.
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37th over: South Africa 194-5 (Wolvaardt 88, Dercksen 31) Shafali returns and is belted for four, first ball, by the mighty Dercksen. The win predictor pops up, saying India have a 64pc chance of a win, SA 36. At the start of this innings it was 65-35, so Laura Wolvaardt has battled away for 37 overs to improve her side’s chances by one measly per cent.
36th over: South Africa 186-5 (Wolvaardt 86, Dercksen 25) Renuka continues … and has Dercksen dropped! By Deepti Sharma at midwicket. It was a loose swat of a shot and Deepti seemed to have it covered as she went low to her left. It’s still a good over for India, only three from it. SA need 113 off 14 overs, so the rate required creeps above 8 for the first time.
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35th over: South Africa 183-5 (Wolvaardt 85, Dercksen 23) Good stuff again from Shree Charani, who now has 1-26 from seven overs. But Wolvaardt is still there, threatening to be the immovable object to India’s irresistible force. SA need 116 off the last 15 overs at 7.73 RPO.
34th over: South Africa 180-5 (Wolvaardt 83, Dercksen 22) Harmanpreet goes back to her seamers, bringing on Renuka Singh Thakur, whose over goes for five. India are still in charge, but it’s not in the bag yet.
33rd over: South Africa 175-5 (Wolvaardt 81, Dercksen 19) Shree Charani restores order, conceding only two singles in this over. But Annerie Dercksen has given the South Africans hope. One of those sixes – don’t ask me which – was measured at 84 metres, making it the biggest hit of this World Cup. The previous record-holder was Richa Ghosh, who could only watch from behind the stumps as the ball sailed away into the night sky.
Only 17 off the over!
32nd over: South Africa 173-5 (Wolvaardt 80, Dercksen 18) So they needed nine off this over … and they’ve got 17! Dercksen goes berserk, slugging a high full toss from Yadav for six, then lofting the resulting free hit for six more. Yadav has 5-0-45-0 and the rate required tumbles to 7.0.
31st over: South Africa 156-5 (Wolvaardt 78, Dercksen 4) Annerie Dercksen shows some intent, guiding the ball round the corner and turning a one into a two with some dogged running. The run rate required is about 7.5, so although this over goes well for them, with six runs and no mishaps, they now need nine off the next one to make up for it. The cruelty of white-ball maths.
30th over: South Africa 150-5 (Wolvaardt 75, Dercksen 1) So South Africa are halfway there, but they’re livin’ on a prayer. Their only hope is for Wolvaardt to get another 169, and to do that she will need a second wind.
WICKET! Jafta c Yadav b Sharma 16 (SA 148-5)
Right on cue! Jafta drags a ball from outside off to midwicket, where Yadav makes no mistake.
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29th over: South Africa 145-4 (Wolvaardt 73, Jafta 15) Hang on, Shafali’s back. The South Africans play her better, taking five runs without risk. The problem is not so much the required rate (7.29) as the wickets: they can’t afford to lose another one any time soon.
28th over: South Africa 141-4 (Wolvaardt 72, Jafta 11) A quiet over from Deepti Sharma. Shafali Verma is having a rest now, perhaps because she’s unused to bowling as many as three overs in a day. In 30 ODIs, she had bowled only 14 overs before today and taken just one wicket (for 76). So it was a masterstroke by Harmanpreet to bring her on.
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27th over: South Africa 138-4 (Wolvaardt 70, Jafta 10) Even Wolvaardt is beginning to wobble. Facing Shree, she connects with thin air outside off, then mistimes a cut and is lucky to see it pop into the gap to the right of backward point. Four singles off the over, but SA are clinging on by their fingernails.
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26th over: South Africa 134-4 (Wolvaardt 68, Jafta 8) A glimmer of hope for South Africa. Sinalo Jafta had been dominating the strike and doing very little with it (four off 17 balls), but now she plays a gorgeous shot – a cover drive off Yadav, threaded through a small gap, so she has eight off 18 balls.
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25th over: South Africa 127-4 (Wolvaardt 66, Jafta 3) Another good over from Shafali, conceding only two singles and somehow dissuading the umpire from calling a clear wide. SA are treading water now and at the halfway stage they need another 172. “The worm,” says one of the commentators, “is losing its way.”
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24th over: South Africa 125-4 (Wolvaardt 65, Jafta 2) These wickets from Shafali have dried up the runs too. This over goes for just a single, to make 16-2 off the last five overs. SA have been far better at hitting boundaries than twos.
23rd over: South Africa 124-4 (Wolvaardt 65, Jafta 1) This wicket is the one they thought they had a minute ago – a strangle down the leg side. It means Shafali Verma had 2-6 from two overs to go with her top score in the match so far. And it caps a tough day for the usually excellent Marizanne Kapp, who has followed ten fruitless overs with a single-figure score.
WICKET! Kapp c Ghosh b Shafali 4 (SA 123-4)
Another one! And now India are right on top.
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22nd over: South Africa 123-3 (Wolvaardt 65, Kapp 4) For a moment India reckon they’ve got another one as their keeper, Ghosh, thinks she’s got Wolvaardt caught behind. The ump doesn’t agree and Ultra Edge doesn’t either, so India lose another review (and the ball goes down as a wide). Reviewing does seem to be the weakest part of their game.
“Good afternoon from a drizzly Portugal Tim,” says Geoff Wignall. “I was wondering why no scoreboard for the OBO. Do you know?” I’m afraid I don’t. “I hope it isn’t because it’s ‘just’ women’s cricket.” I second that emotion.
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21st over: South Africa 118-3 (Wolvaardt 63, Kapp 2) The South Africans have been trying to get out caught-and-bowled and now one of them has succeeded. It starts with Harmanprett throwing the ball to Shafali, who batted so well earlier. And then Sune Luus, whose shot selection had been so shrewd, tries to whip a straight ball to leg. It stops on her and pops back to the bowler, who takes a crisp low catch. Advantage India!
WICKET! Luus c&b Shafali 25 (SA 114-3)
The breakthrough! Caught Shafali, bowled Shafali, but scripted by Harmanpreet.
20th over: South Africa 113-2 (Wolvaardt 60, Luus 25) Another sweep from Luus, another boundary. That’s a fine fifty partnership from her and Wolvaardt. And we’ve reached the 20-over mark, so this game will have a winner!
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19th over: South Africa 109-2 (Wolvaardt 60, Luus 21) It’s Groundhog Over at the other end too. Yadav again goes for back-to-back boundaries, but there’s no luck involved this time – just skill from Luus, who plays a hard sweep followed by a gentle lap.
18th over: South Africa 100-2 (Wolvaardt 60, Luus 12) This over from Shree Charani is a photocopy of her previous one. First five balls: four dots, one run from Luus. Last ball: four to Wolvaardt, who whips a straight ball into the gap behind deep square. That’s supposed to be her weakness!
Another fifty to Wolvaardt!
17th over: South Africa 95-2 (Wolvaardt 56, Luus 11) After seeing one left-arm spinner do well (batr that last ball), Harmanpreet summons another – Radha Yadav. She bowls a full toss, which Wolvaardt thumps to long-on. Some poor fielding lets it through for four and that’s fifty to Wolvaardt. Next ball, Wolvaardt gets some more luck as she edges for four. You don’t make your own luck, but she has had a magnificent World Cup.
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16th over: South Africa 84-2 (Wolvaardt 47, Luus 9) Shree bowls five good balls and then one bad one that dribbles down the leg side. Wolvaardt helps herself from the buffet with a comfy sweep. A caption says that India were 92-0 at this stage
Drinks: India on top
15th over: South Africa 78-2 (Wolvaardt 43, Luus 8) Sune Luus brings vast experience and shows it with a cool, calm cut for four off Amanjot, whose three overs have cost 25.
And that’s drinks with India on top for now and fielding very well, a sure sign of a thriving team. But Wolvaardt is still there and going well enough to haunt their dreams.
14th over: South Africa 71-2 (Wolvaardt 42, Luus 2) A good tight over from Shree Charani, who now has 1-5 from two overs. But there’s been another landmark for Wolvaardt: she has grabbed the record for most runs in a women’s World Cup from Alyssa Healy (509).
13th over: South Africa 69-2 (Wolvaardt 41, Luus 1) Wolvaardt takes a leaf out of Brits’ book with a uppish straight drive off Amanjot, but she hits it so hard that it’s always going for four. These wickets clearly haven’t sent her into her shell, but she can’t get 300 on her own. Three other batters are going to have to get 40, and two of the candidates have already gone.
12th over: South Africa 62-2 (Wolvaardt 35, Luus 0) So the ebb and flow continue. South Africa, who started tentatively, then blossomed, have now lost two wickets in three overs. But Wolvaardt is still there and Kapp is still to come.
WICKET! Bosch LBW b Shree Charani 0 (SA 62-2)
Alas, poor Anneke. She gets a ball that turns from the slow left-armer Shree Charani, misses it and is given LBW. She doesn’t review when it might have saved her as there seemed to be a chance that the ball had pitched outside leg. But off Bosch goes, for her third duck in this World Cup, and her miserable day is complete.
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Wolvaardt reaches 500!
11th over: South Africa 59-1 (Wolvaardt 32, Bosch 0) Wolvaardt, unruffled by the loss of her partner, lifts Sharma for six over long-on and sails past 500 runs in this World Cup, a fabulous achievement. At the other end is Anneke Bosch, who has a fraction of that – 35, I think. And she’s already dropped two catches today. This might be a good time to find some form.
10th over: South Africa 52-1 (Wolvaardt 25, Bosch 0) Amanjot Kaur could have been sulking because she’d just been taken off after one expensive over. Instead she was alert at mid-on, swooping and hitting a stump-and-a-half as Brits set off a touch late because she’d been on the back foot. Nasser Hussain spots that his favourite plaer, Jemimah Rodrigues, played her part too, with a fine diving stop a couple of balls earlier which kept Brits tied down.
WICKET! Brits run out 23 (SA 51-1)
A direct hit by Amanjot … and India have the breakthrough!
9th over: South Africa 51-0 (Wolvaardt 24, Brits 23) Another bowling change as India turn to spin in the form of Deepti Sharma’s off-breaks. Brits again comes close to being caught-and-bowled, but then she belts another of those fours back past the bowler. South AFrica’s fifty comes up, no trouble.
8th over: South Africa 44-0 (Wolvaardt 23, Brits 17) Harmanpreet makes her first bowling change, replacing Kranti with Amanjot. It almost works as Brits again flirts with offering a caught-and-bowled, but then it goes wrong. Amanjot bowls a ball that could be a wide down the leg side, only to see it whipped for four by Laura Wolvaardt, who then carts her over midwicket for four more, with a hint of contempt. That’s 11 off the over and 32 off the last four.
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7th over: South Africa 33-0 (Wolvaardt 15, Brits 14) Cheered by the sight of Wolvaardt getting into the groove, Brits starts her blitz. She lofts Renuka back over her shoulder and all the way for six. India won the first four overs, albeit with little to show for it (12-0); SA have won the last three (21-0).
6th over: South Africa 26-0 (Wolvaardt 15, Brits 7) Wolvaardt, facing Kranti, plays a better shot, a pull for four off the front foot, in fact after a dance down the track. She follows that with a clip for two off the stumps, which, we’ve just learned from a caption, is her Achilles heel.
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5th over: South Africa 18-0 (Wolvaardt 8, Brits 6) “You can feel the pressure,” says Dinesh Karthik, such a natural in the commentary box. Wolvaardt, right on cue, goes for her first big shot. Facing Renuka, she gets four but not where she intended – aiming for deep midwicket, she scuffs it past fine leg. And then Brits is close to chipping a catch to a bespoke fielder at silly mid-on – hats off to Harmanpreet for the ploy.
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4th over: South Africa 12-0 (Wolvaardt 3, Brits 6) Brits is itching for a blitz. She goes down the track to Kranti, who sees her coming and cuts her cloth accordingly, switching to a wide-ish bouncer. India have made a nice confident start with the ball, just as they did with the bat.
3rd over: South Africa 10-0 (Wolvaardt 2, Brits 5) Renuka is finding more swing than Kapp did. She beats Brits on the inside edge, twice, and goes up for LBW, twice. The first one is obviously doing too much, the second is too in the eyes of the umpire. Harmanpreet reviews, but HawkEye agrees with the ump and India lose a review.
The upshot is that South Africa are 10 for none, and so are India. They’ve used 10 reviews in the field, not one of them successful.
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2nd over: South Africa 7-0 (Wolvaardt 2, Brits 4) From the other end it’s Kranti Gaud, military medium with the haircut to match. She starts steadily too, but then Tamzin Brits drills her down the ground for a well-timed four. Kranti bites back with a length ball that holds its line and beats the bat outside off. This innings is already a good contest.
1st over: South Africa 1-0 (Wolvaardt 1, Brits 0) Renuka Singh takes the new white ball, swinging it in, and she starts with three nice solid dots. When she drops a touch short, Wolvaardt is able to cut but can’t evade the sweeper. Still, one off the first over is one more than India managed.
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Out comes Laura Wolvaardt, with a fair amount of weight on her shoulders. Will she be weary after running the show for 50 overs on top of a rain delay, or still buzzing from her magnum opus against England?
“Given how the semi-finals played out,” says Mohammed Faser, “the Proteas should fancy a record chase.”
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India have a 65pc chance of a win according to CricViz, South Africa 35. According to the slightly less celebrated TimViz, it’s a bit closer than that. Yes, India have runs on the board and they made Marizanne Kapp look like a mere mortal, but they never went crazy and they let Ayabonga Khaka get Kapp’s wickets for her. The South Africans won the last phase of that first innings, so they may well feel as if they got out of jail after all those dropped catches. They have the toss on their side if the rain returns, and they’ve already seen that there are plenty of runs in this pitch. The World Cup final is nicely poised.
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Hello everyone and thank you Tanya. That was a hell of a shift, extended by two hours because of the rain. I offered to do a stint in the dull middle overs, but (a) Tanya was too much of a trouper to agree to this and (b) the middle overs weren’t dull anyway.
South Africa need 299 to win
Ebb and flow aplenty in that innings – excellent ground fielding but five dropped catches. India, 158-1 at halfway, could only manage 69 for three from the last ten overs.
South Africa will have to pull off the highest chase in history to win a Women’s World Cup Final. And Tim de Lisle is here to guide you through it. Thanks so much for your emails, today and throughout the tournament. Bye!
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WICKET! Deepti run out 58 India 298-7 after 50 overs
Radha throws the sink, taps and plugs at the final ball, but drops the bat. India come back for the second and Deepti is run out.
50th over: India 298-7 (Radha 3) Just five singles off De Klerk. Chaos off the penultimate ball as Deepti hits straight with one arm, thinks she’ll be caught, isn’t, and Radha has to then sprint back to the striker’s end. A big total, but not an ungettable total. Delicious!
WICKET! Richa c Derksen b Khaka 34(India 292-6)
Deep square leg is waiting, and Derksen holds on. At last. Richa is patted on the back as she walks over the boundary, where Harmanpreet waits, throwing a ball, slowly ,deliberately, from hand to hand
49th over: India 292-5 (Deepti 55 ) Khaka controls the narrative for the first half of the over, then Deepti launches into a full tss sending it roaring for four. But a vital wicket from the last.
Fifty for Deepti
48th over: India 286-5 (Deepti 50, Richa 33) Kapp’s shadow directs her field alongisde her. But she’s roast-beefed by a 100-horsepower Richa over extra cover for SIX. Deepti jumps for joy at the other end. Deepti reaches fifty with a quick single, off 53 balls. Oh dear and Richa is then dropped by a diving Bosch as she lurches into a full toss. Kapp’s face is blank with fury.
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47th over: India 277-5 (Deepti 49, Richa 25) Oh my eyes! Richa reverse-sweeps the excellent Mlaba, so so sweetly behind point.
46th over: India 269-5 (Deepti 47, Richa 18) De Klerk bustles in. Again just one run from her first four balls, but Richa clomps her fifth to the rope to heady blue delight.
45th over: India 262-5 (Deepti 46, Richa 13) Khaka for Mlaba. Just five singles from the first five balls, but Ghosh threads the needle to the last, picking up four past the despairing, near-coliding bodies of de Klerk and Bosch.
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44th over: India 253-5 (Deepti 43, Richa 7) Hands on heads in the crowd with Amanjot’s dismissal but Richa Ghosh gets them going again with SIX inside-out over extra cover – that’s her 11th six, the most, now, of anyone in the tournament.
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WICKET! AManjot c and b de Klerk 12 (India 245-5)
A leaping de Klerk bags Amanjot, deceived by a slower ball, leaping over the crouching Deepti.
43rd over: India 245-4 (Deepti 42, Amanjot 12) The fielders move this way and that as Mlaba, green skin under her shirt, dances in. Appeals for an lbw – not out on the field but Wolvaardt, brain possibly scrambled by that drop, reviews. Sue is in the TV umpire chair. Impact outside the line. Just two singles from the over. Fabulous bowling.
42nd over: India 243-4 (Deepti 41, Amanjot 11) Amanjot, last-over heroine of the semi-final, stitches Kapp for four past backward point.
41st over: India 236-4 (Deepti 39, Amanjot 6) And another chance fluffed, as Wolvaardt dives forwards at long on to a miscue from Deepti, but misjudges completely. Deepti had already screwed up her face in anticipated disappointment. Wolvaardt jumps up, face betraying nothing.
40th over: India 229-4 (Deepti 36, Amanjot 2) Kapp is back, and almost gets rid of Deepti, who twists the bat and turns her up, flicking the finger tips of Kapp who leaps with outstretched hand in her follow through. A horribly difficult chance.
”It is not surprising at all that the South African Women are throwing themselves at every ball, stopping boundaries and saving runs.” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “After all, the first known super hero of fielding, Jonty Rhodes must have been a great influence (Trivia - His daughter is named India)“
WICKET! Kaur b Mlaba 20 (India 223-4)
Nicely flighted and Harmanpreet, eager for boundaries, rocks back and loses her bails. She immediately turns and stalks off, helmet half off. Crucial wicket as India look to turn up the volume.
39th over: India 223-4 (Deepti 31, Amanjot 0 ) Wolvaardt brings Mlaba back to attempt to stem the flow. Cropped bleached hair, studs in her ears. Just three singles, a wide, then the WICKET!
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38th over: India 219-3 (Deepti 31, Kaur 19) Deepti goes again, over midwicket with a bucket and spade for four. Tryon has seven overs under her belt for 46. Black skies now in Navi Mumbai, the lights blazing from their posts.
37th over: India 211-3 (Deepti 25, Kaur 17) Deepti gets the slow-death raised finger from the umpire off de Klerk’s first ball. She asks her partner whether she should review, gets the nod, and wisely – the ball pitched outside leg. So she lives to sweep de Klerk’s last delivery round the corner for four.
36th over: India 203-3 (Deepti 19, Kaur 15) Tryon, on the money. Just three singles. Kaur, like in the semi-final, is taking her time to wind up.
35th over: India 200-3 (Deepti 17, Kaur 14) More excellent fielding by South Africa on a slippery deck, picking up cleanly on the slide and dive, prevents the boundary. It is just starting to drizzle.
34th over: India 195-3 (Deepti 15, Kaur 12) Tryon, shirt untucked, suncream smeared across her nose. Deepti nearly falls foul of a quick single, ends up sprawled on the ground once more. Deepti sweeps sharply, but the ball is cut off by the sub fielder Shangase who throws herself at full pelt towards the ball. But the boundary comes when Kaur shimmies into poition and then late cuts, knife through butter. Tryon turns in despair.
33rd over: India 185-3 (Deepti 11, Kaur 6) Deepti plonks front foot forward and wide and satsumas Kapp for SIX over deep midwicket. Then four well run singles. Kapp talks animatedly to Wolvaardt and then walks off the field as the players take DRINKS.
32nd over: India 175-3 (Deepti 3, Kaur 4) Khaka concedes just two, one of them a wide. Deepti tries to ramp her for four, but misses, in the dug-out the Indian players cover their eyes with their hands
31st over: India 173-3 (Deepti 2, Kaur 4) Deepti, as so often, looks as if she’s running through treacle, dives like an old suitcase to make her ground. Run outs a high possiblity here.
30th over: India 172-3 (Deepti 1, Kaur 4) The game switches again with two new batters at the crease. Excellent effort by South Africa to stay in the game when it threatened to sprint away. The ground falls quiet.
WICKET! Jemimah c Wolvaardt b Khaka 24 (India 171-3)
A glorious-looking stroke, but brings her downfall, as Wolvaardt does very well to scoop the ball off the ground at cover. The umpires take a look to be sure – but the cameras spell Jemimah’s downfall.
29th over: India 171-2 (Jemimah 24, Kaur 4) Kapp back to pile on the pressure. But Harmanpreet isn’t playing nice and gets off the mark by crouching low and flicking her behind for four, the barest of movements, like the nod of a head to hurry someone along. Kapp takes her hand out of her pony tail in frustration.
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28th over: India 166-2 (Jemimah 23, Kaur 0) But like a classic Australian side, there is no end to the pressure, as Shafali’s demise brings only more trouble in the shape of Harmanpreet.
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WICKET! Shafali c Luus b Khaka 87 (India 166-2)
Shafali tries to flay over mid-off again but doesn’t clear the fielder, Luus, who retreats and holds on with both hands and punches the air. A sweat-soaked Shafali pulls off her helmet, puts one hand to her heart and walks off. An all-important innings, getting India off to a flyer against the new ball.
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27th over: India 162-1 (Shafali 85, Jemimah 21) Four singles milked off Mlaba. Wolvaardt jogs back, pale faced but still looking calm and collected.
26th over: India 158-1 (Shafali 83, Jemimah 19) Khaka comes back, can she be less expensive in this spell? Just a couple of singles from the first four balls but then an NOBALL. Shafali takes stock round the ground but it is a free-hit ball to die for, right on the wide line, and Shafali doesn’t move a muscle. She roars in frustration, but takes it out on the next, a slower ball, which she splats over extra cover for four more.
25th over: India 151-1 (Shafali 78, Jemimah 18) Shafali gets some treatment for cramp, lying down on the ground surrounded by the physios, and is tracked by spidercam which seems a bit intrusive to me. A dot ball from Luus is followed by six wham-bammed down the ground. Hard to believe, but she’s still only 21.
A message drops into the OBO mailbox. "Thanks for your coverage of an excellent tournament. The round-robin format worked well (apart from the rain in Sri Lanka) as even the so-called lesser sides competed well against the higher ranked teams. Some real surprises (the strength of batting at 7 and 8 and weakness of several middle orders against spin), predictable wins and standout performances of guts, skill and character. Loved it, especially the pistachios and mangoes.”
Why thank you Stephen! I agree, it has been a real joy to watch.
“India to win by the barest of margins in the final over.” Over to Tim for that one.
24th over: India 140-1 (Shafali 68, Jemimah 17) Sorry I missed the fact I needed to change the channel. Some singles.
23rd over: India 134-1 (Shafali 65, Jemimah 14) Luus rolls into over number four. Five singles from it.
22nd over: India 129-1 (Shafali 63, Jemimah 11) Jemimah keeps things singing with quick singles while Shafali Tryon for four off her legs.
21st over: India 122-1 (Shafali 58, Jemimah 9) Oh my, Shafali is dropped on 56, a high ball drops into Bosch’s hands at deep midwicket, and then straight out again. Now Jemimah drives through extra-cover with tinkling bells for four.South Africa need to hold on here.
20th over: India 114-1 (Shafali 56, Jemimah 3) Four dry singles for Jemimah.
18th over: India 111-1 (Shafali 53, Jemimah 3) A handful of singles off Luus.
Fifty for Shafali
18th over: India 106-1 (Shafali 50, Jemimah 1) Just as the television commentators say that India have struggled against slow left-arm spin, Smriti, after a lofted-off drive for four, loses concentration. South Africa breathe. And a fifty for Shafali, who wasn’t even in the ODI squad till injury to Pratika Rewal during India’s final group game.
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WICKET! Smriti c Jafta b Tryon 45 (India 104-1)
Tryon with the breakthrough! Absolute silence as Smriti leans back to cut but just edges through to the keeper.
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17th over: India 97-0 (Smriti 39, Shafali 48) Luus. Thick brown ponytail, very front on action. After just one from the first four balls, Smriti leans and sweeps to the rope, sweetness itself.
16th over: India 92-0 (Smriti 35, Shafali 47) Mlaba fizzing through her overs like a Catherine Wheel. The players take DRINKS with India absolutely on top.
15th over: India 89-0 (Smriti 34, Shafali 45) Oh wow! SIX, through the line, straight, Shafali is pumping now. This is the highest opening stand of the World Cup. De Klerk pegs her back for the rest of the over.
14th over: India 80-0 (Smriti 33, Shafali 38)A certain four stopped on the rope by a diving, sliding, Dercksen, long blond plait down to her bottom. She grins. But Smriti does make it count, cutting her past point for four.
13th over: India 71-0 (Smriti 28, Shafali 35) De Klerk again, five from the over but no boundary. Kapp is talking to herself, looking intense. The stadium is humming with expectation.
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12th over: India 65-0 (Smriti 27, Shafali 31) And another tight over from Mlaba, just a single squeezed from it. Have just spotted Clare Connor in the crowd too, deep in conversation.
11th over: India 65-0 (Smriti 27, Shafali 30) The highest power play for India of this WC but de Klerk again holds them to a single. Will the pressure start to tell.
10th over: India 64-0 (Smriti 27, Shafali 29) Mlaba stems the flow.
9th over: India 63-0 (Smriti 27, Shafali 28) A double change as De Klerk replaces Kapp. Four more, driven past a diving point by Smriti, high, proud elbow. The flags are flying in the stadium, the crowd a good mix of men and women.
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8th over: India 58-0 (Smriti 23, Shafali 27) Wolvaardt turns to Mlaba. And her first ball is dispatched to the rope too, through the covers – BANG. Wolvaardt prevents, just, another near-four.
7th over: India 51-0 (Smriti 21, Shafali 22) Kapp unable,to manifest wickets in the way she could against England in the semi-final. She drifts leg side inviting Smriti to turn her off her boots for four, who accepts.
6th over: India 45-0 (Smriti 16, Shafali 21) Loving the strain of Gimme Hope Jo’anna between overs. India flying after six. Smriti strokes Khaka behind backward point for four, then a cover drive to die for. Then four wides.
5th over: India 31-0 (Smriti 7, Shafali 21) Kapp chews her shiny black painted nails as Shafali blasts her through the covers for four, and then, next ball, turns her wrists like a doorknob and whisks her through midwicket for four more.
“Starbuck’s quip about detergent reminds me of a joke,” writes Krishnamoorthy. “Surf failed in Pakistan because their advertisement campaign depended on a billboard with 3 panels.dirty cloth- surf detergent- sparkling white cloth. Surf did not factor in the fact that Urdu is written from right to left.”
4th over: India 22-0 (Smriti 6, Shafali 13) Again the first ball of Khaka’s over is dispatched to the rope by Shafali. Then some handy strike rotation. But, Ian Bishop points out, Khaka is finding inswing that Kapp isn’t.
3rd over: India 13-0 (Smriti 5, Shafali 6) The lights are already on at the DY Patil. Kapp is furious that she concedes a wide and then Smriti attacks another ball with width, posting it through the gap at point.
In the crowd, Sachin Tendulkar chats to ICC nepo-baby supremo Jay Shah.
2nd over: India 7-0 (Smriti 1, Shafali 5) Ecstasies for the crowd as Shafali pounds Kaka’s first ball through point, with planted powerful front leg.
“What is the record for Women’s WC final victories? asks Ruth Purdue. Is it mostly for the chasing team?”
Since 2000, five times out of six the team that batted first have won. But only one of those games was in India.
1st over: India 0-0 (Smriti 0, Shafali 0) Kapp with the new ball, and what do you know, it’s a maiden.
Anthems
Tarryn Lamb sings the South African anthem, gloriously. Marizanne Kapp has her eyes and lips tightly shut. The rest of the team sing along with gusto.
Sunidhi Chauhan in a royal blue sari with India’s anthem. The stadium sings as one. Harmanpreet smiles and looks to the sky.
As we wait for the anthems, John Starbuck with the big question of the day. “After all that rain, no matter what the ground staff can do, the players of both sides will have a massive laundry bill. So who do they use, and is there a sponsorship in place? The PR kudos must be massive.”
I’m convinced the IPL will have a sponsored detergent.
The stands are a mighty ocean of blue. A reminder than South Africa have never been in a World Cup final before. Some task they have ahead of them.
An unchanged South Africa
South Africa XI: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba.
An unchanged India
India XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh.
South Africa win the toss and will bowl!
Harmanpreet tosses, Wolvaardt calls. A weather-influenced plump for the ball.
“There’s a bit of rain around and it’s a nice chasing ground with a bit of dew.” says Wolvaardt. “We’re hoping for a bit of stickiness with the ball early on but it looks a really good wicket. Our first game here at Mumbai, but not worried, I think we’ve been pretty good adjusting at the powerplay.”
A huge roar when Harmanpreet gets the microphone. She thinks batting first might not be a hindrance as they can bat freely. After five or six overs, she doesn’t think there will be much in the surface because of the rain around and due to the ball getting wet.
Both sides are unchanged.
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The players are out in the middle warming up. It is looking promising. If you’re at the DY Patil, please give us watching enviously at home a taste of the atmosphere.
Toss at 11am GMT - start at 11.30am
If the weather behaves.
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The mop-up begins
We haven’t lost any overs yet in Navi Mumbai. Though I am counting down the remaining hours of daylight here in Manchester – where the sky at the moment is a perfect cornflower blue, to complement the burnished gold leaves and burnt orange crab apples.
And thank you for educating me on Navi Mumbai. A selection of emails.
Arul Kanhere: “Navi (or New) is an extension added to the old city of Mumbai. As the people stacked into the metropolis for work and employment, the city kept growing and is now a part of the wider metropolitan region. That is called the MMRDA, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Area.”
Mittu Choudhary again: “Also NAVI Mumbai is a twin city - which came up to support the burgeoning Bombay population in the 80s-90s. Now it’s grown into its own and considered one of the best cities to live in in India.”
And Krishnanmoorthy: “Bombay grew along its two arterial local train routes. Central and Western. At some point in time, when the exploding population (Bombay has more people than Czech, Slovakia and Austria combined) could not be accommodated any longer, a satellite city came up. Away from both the train routes and towards Pune. Lack of creative thinking gave it an ordinary name New Bombay which was then changed to Navi Mumbai bowing to linguistic pressures. The local joke goes this way: Pune is closer to Navi Mumbai than Munbai is.”
The rain is slowing.
“This talk of Wisden Monthly reminded me of when I was a cricket obsessed teen looking to devour anything cricket I could get my hands on,” writes Mittu Choudhary.
“This was somewhere in 2004 when I came across Wisden Cricket Asia (maybe the Asia edition of the WCM) at the newsstand and mobilised all my resources to get my copy a month later. Only to see a letter from the editor in my second copy that printing was ceasing and I was holding the last copy of Wisden Asia Cricket :(. Also on my way to the stadium now and it’s absolutely pouring - it’s not looking good.”
A heartbreaking tale Mittu!
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Just going to make a quick cup of coffee, back shortly.
And it rains on, soggy underfoot in Navi Mumbai. And the forecast for tomorrow is even worse.
Raf confirms. “If they can’t get in the minimum overs today (20 per side) they will resume tomorrow where they left off. It would be the same number of overs as decided by the umpires today - they wouldn’t bump it back up to a full game.”
A question. Is Navi Mumbai considered a suburb of Mumbai? Is it a Salford/Manchester kind of thing?
And hello Chris Kibathi! “We are following from Nairobi, Tanya.
“Obviously rooting for Africa as we have always done ever since Lance Klusener’s heroics ended in heartbreak in London ‘99.”
Such happy memories of that great World Cup – was the first one I worked at, as part of the team at Wisden Cricket Monthly under Tim de Lisle, who will take over for today’s second innings, if it ever happens. I wasn’t at Edgbaston for that Klusener game but was at the “you’ve just dropped the World Cup mate” match – or at least I think I was. Can’t quite pin it down through the mists of time.
A message drops. “I am emailing from Manila, Philippines,” writes Jeremy Flint. “While we are waiting perhaps you could explain the contingencies for using the spare day (ie is that only possible if we don’t get the 20 over minimum for a DLS game or is there a special criteria for the final?)“
Flicking through my metaphorical book of playing conditions… I think we get two extra two hours today to get the game done, and we don’t start losing overs until the start is two hours late. The match must have a minimum of 20 overs per side.
But…and thanks to the BBC for this, if one side bats 50 overs but fewer than 20 overs are bowled of the chase, the game will resume from the same point tomorrow.
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While we wait for news of this Mumbai damp, gen up on your South African history with this great read from Firdose Moonda.
More rain
Ian Ward, Isa Guha and Nasser Hussain are sheltering under huge umbrellas as they chew the fat.
Guha speaks beautifully about the occasion.
“Just like 2017, when people said that Lord’s could never be sold out for a women’s final, like 2020 when 80,000 turned up to the MCG and now today [where people were queing for non-existent tickets on Saturday], I’m just so happy for the girls.
“I always think about Rachael Heyhoe-Flint on days like today, the way she was able to campaign to make that first World Cup happen in 1973. All those women who went out on the street and were selling tickets to try and get people to come and watch to be told that women’s cricket wasn’t good enough, not strong enough not skilled enough. This defies all of that.
“We’ve seen throughout this tournament that the skill levels have gone up massively, the levels of competition, to have a new name on the trophy – Alyssa Healy spoke really well about the legacy for Indian cricket. We saw what the men’s World Cup win did in 1983, [the women]can absolutely do that today. India want to be a sport-forward nation, if they’re not engaging half the population they’re not going to get there. But we’ve seen so many young girls, and boys, get inspired by this competition.”
Whether you’re in Mumbai, Jo’burg or anywhere else, do get in touch as we wait.
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Roads to the final
Bends, twists and dead-ends for both teams on their way to today:
India lost three games, to England, Australia and, crucially, South Africa. Losing matches they should have won.
South Africa collapsed like a Yorkshire pudding to England and then Australia, before finding their mojo in Guwahati.
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“Good morning Tanya.” Hello there Krishnamoorthy!
“India has a record of winning all the matches and blowing up in a crucial match. That should have been the Semifinals. But, this Indian team proved they are different. The South African team carry the tag of being the chokers. These are the narratives that accompany their male counterpart, not these lionesses. Heart says India. Head says India.
“Am not leaving this OBO for a minute, come what may!”
Nasser Hussain “This place is going to be jam-packed. 30,000 people. If they win today, that sleeping giant will be awake and very hard to stop.”
And it is raining again.
Delay
Bathetic rain. A 30 minute delay as they mop up.
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And a couple of post-mortems.
First Australia:
Then England:
Raf’s preview of today’s big match.
South Africa's captain: Laura Wolvaardt
And some soft snow calm from Laura Wolvaardt.
“Mandla [Mashimbyi, South Africa head coach] normally does the really inspirational stuff, the ‘you’re carrying your country’ type of thing. And then I think I’d just come with a little ‘stay calm, girls’ at the end. There’s going to be a lot of noise, a lot happening, a lot of maybe different routines than you’re used to in a normal game. But at the end of the day, we’re going to have to do the basics for longer throughout the game, and hold the nerve for longer. I think just holding on and staying calm is going to go a long way tomorrow.”
“I’m trying not to think too far ahead; just really sort of slow it down. I think the first time you’re in those finals, it feels like a really big, fast-paced event. We’re going to need to slow down and take a big breath, and hope we’re able to do that as a group.”
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India's captain: Harmanpreet Kaur
Harmanpreet, whose face tells a thousand, ten thousand, stories, wept as India turned over Australia. She was more composed on Saturday night.
“I think the most important thing is that we have to enjoy this because there is nothing bigger than this in our life as a cricketer and as a captain. So our focus is to enjoy this moment and keep taking small targets which we have to achieve as a team rather than thinking bigger targets because you can achieve bigger targets if you achieve the small targets.”
“As a player, these moments are very important. To beat a team like Australia, which is a big team and has always done well on the world stage. It’s not an easy thing to perform and be mentally strong in front of them. But I think overcoming that hurdle was something very special to all of us. I always tell my team that you don’t need to control your emotions. If you feel like crying, cry. At the same time, just keep enjoying. I think there is no bigger achievement or thing for us. Tomorrow is a special day and we will go with the same mindset.”
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Preamble
Are you ready for a new chapter? A new name on an old trophy?
A sell-out crowd is waiting at Navi Mumbai for these two sides, who turned over the old order in their semi-finals. Harmanpreet Kaur’s generational India play Laura Wolvaardt’s under-the-radar South Africa, with England and Australia watching from their sofas. Two totemic captains, two sides chock-a-block with talent.
This feels like a game changer. Stay with us as we count every over.
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