NZ W vs SA W | Twitter impressed as Tazmin Brits and Nonkululeko Mlaba power South Africa to clinical win

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South Africa Women beat New Zealand Women in a group game of the Women's World Cup 2025 in Indore on Monday. Opener Tazmin Brits scored yet another century to star in the chase after left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba picked up four wickets to restrict the Kiwis to a moderate total.

‌Tazmin Brits scored her fifth century in the current year to power South Africa Women to a dominant six-wicket win over New Zealand in the ICC Women’s World Cup in Indore on Monday. Earlier, left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba’s impressive four-wicket haul helped the Proteas skittle out the Kiwis for a below-par score before their first win took them to fifth in the points table. Meanwhile, New Zealand stay second from bottom and are still in search of their first win in the marquee event.

After opting to bat at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, New Zealand were dealt a severe blow in the first ball of the game when Marizanne Kapp trapped Suzie Bates right in front. Amelia Kerr joined fellow opener Georgia Plimmer to stabilise the Kiwi innings as they ended the mandatory powerplay of 10 overs at 38/1. But the slow pace of the innings forced Kerr to go big, and the Mumbai Indians all-rounder miscued a big hit off Nadine de Klerk to be caught beautifully by Sune Luus at mid off. Captain Sophie Devine had the twin objectives of avoiding a collapse as well as improving the scoring rate of the White Ferns. Though she started slowly, managing just one run in seven balls, Devine hit consecutive boundaries off de Klerk and Kapp in the next two overs to signal the shift of intent. Once the struggling innings of Plimmer ended, the scoring went further up, courtesy of Brooke Halliday’s quickfire cameo. She started with a four off Chloe Tryon before smashing four fours in the left-arm spinner’s next two overs. Meanwhile, the New Zealand skipper held the other end up to complete her fifty, in 66 balls, as the Kiwis sat at a comfortable looking 187/3 with 12 overs to go. But the 86-run fourth wicket partnership, which came in just 75 balls, was broken by Mlaba, who caught Halliday off her own bowling. Halliday hit six fours during her 37-ball 45, and her dismissal paved the way for a major collapse as NZ were bundled out for 231, losing their last seven wickets for 44 runs. Devine was their top-scorer with 85 off 98 balls, a knock which included nine fours, while left-arm spinner Mlaba had impressive figures of 4/40 in 10 overs.

The Proteas started their pursuit positively with Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt hitting two boundaries each against Bree Illing and Jess Kerr, respectively. But Kerr had the last laugh as she trapped the South African skipper in front of the wicket, in the same over. But Sune Luus and Brits kept the scoreboard ticking as the Proteas reached 54/1 after the 10-over mark. Brits showed no signs of slowing down, hitting Devine for two fours in the next over, while Luus welcomed leg-spinner Amelia Kerr with a six in her first over. Brits made up for Luus’ slow and steady innings as she never allowed the White Ferns to build pressure on them. She smashed five fours in three overs before bringing up her fifty with another boundary off Devine in the 19th over. Luus also joined her, seven overs later, with a patient half-century as the Proteas needed only 73 runs in the last 24 overs with nine wickets in hand. Brits reached her first World Cup hundred with a single off Halliday before departing in the next over. Brits had 15 fours and a six during her 89-ball 101, while Luus remained unbeaten on 81 off 114 balls. She anchored the innings to perfection with nine fours and a six, and took the side home with 55 balls to spare, despite a late innings wobble. The Proteas score read 234/4, with Amelia Kerr being the pick among the Kiwi bowlers with a spell of 2/62 in 10 overs.

SA-W Win!

A 6 wicket victory for South Africa. Luus hits 81 not out. Tazmin Brits with a brilliant century helped South Africa to register their first win of the 2025 ODI World Cup
— Joseph Kiran (@Josekiran30)

Yeah!

Sune Luus (81*) takes South Africa home to a very important win vs New Zealand !!
— Cricketism (@MidnightMusinng)

Brilliant knock!

🥶 WHAT A PLAYER SOPHIE DEVINE

- 112 AGAINST AUSTRALIA

- 85 AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA

ALONE WARRIOR.....!!!!!
— Rana Ahmed (@RanaAhmad056)

What a player!

Tazmin Brits achieves a groundbreaking feat! She becomes the first woman to score five ODI centuries in a year,

marking a historic milestone with her maiden World Cup ton! 🙌🎉💪👏

— Jitendra Kumar (@jitenda60203698)

Yeah!