Simplicity the driving factor for De Klerk in her match-winning knock as she steers South Africa to unlikely win.
‘Simplicity is everything’ and impossible is Nadine for South Africa.
Turning things around is something that South Africa is quite proud of. They wouldn’t have been too confident going into Thursday’s match considering their recent record of five consecutive ODI losses to India in subcontinental circumstances going into this World Cup. Additionally, it would have been still quite fresh to remember the 69-all-out versus England at the beginning of the competition. Despite being far from the favourites, South Africa managed to win the game in the final ten overs despite being under pressure to do so once more.
A player who isn’t exactly the most well-known, feared, or praised in the South African side gave the performance that reversed the tide on India. Klerk, Nadine. Despite her three-for against Australia in the 2020 T20 World Cup semifinal, she is not one of the players whom opponents typically target first.
De Klerk faced what may have been the most difficult assignment of her career on Thursday in Visakhapatnam. With around 13,000 Indian fans packed into the stands for India’s home World Cup, she left with the score at 142 and South Africa’s top six eliminated.
The formula required a rigid 110 to be obtained from 85 balls. In the middle overs, the Indian spinners were tightening the strangle. Even though they had 10 runs per over to score in the final four or five overs, de Klerk and Chloe Tryon realised that their greatest chance was to take the game deep.
However, de Klerk did not take the most cautious or safe methods to get there. By throwing Shree Charani away for four, she dispelled concerns about left-arm spin. Then, she boldly swam out of the crease to find the space on the leg side for the same outcome.
She made the decision to “take the game on” and was able to “hit those awkward gaps where normally there are no fielders” thanks to her prior hockey playing skills. To make the Indian squad work harder, she went over mid-on and mid-off if they were in the circle and squared the ball for more runs if they were dropped back.
She and Tryon pulled it down to 60 from 36 – ten an over in the last six like they had anticipated – but now, Tryon started to experience troubles in her severely strapped left leg. After a spell of limping, she was treated, and inevitably, de Klerk was given the responsibility. He took out Sneh Rana for a six and a four at the beginning of the 46th over, making it 42 off 28, before Rana trapped the struggling Tryon leg before wicket on 49.
De Klerk farmed the strike and took it upon herself to eliminate nearly all of the remaining runs with Ayabonga Khaka at the other end. She finished with two powerful sixes in three balls against Amanjot Kaur.
De Klerk had stated the day before this match that the World Cup was “going to be a lot of ups and downs” and that “at the end of the day, this World Cup is all about fight and character.” After she hit the winning runs, thousands of Indian supporters in the stadium fell silent, and her teammates surrounded her. Who knew those words would be used to tell her own tale a day later and resonate so loudly?