ICC Women's WC: SA skipper Wolvaardt rues underwhelming top-order show after win, Bangladesh skipper Nigar expresses pride in team's fight

Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], October 14 (ANI): Following her side's win over Bangladesh in their ICC Women's World Cup clash, South African skipper Laura Woolvardt admitted that the lack of contributions from the top-order is not an ideal thing, but the lower-order chipping in with runs is a positive.

An all-round show from Chloe Tryon and knocks from Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk helped South Africa to a victory against Bangladesh by three wickets, as the all-round trio lifted their side to a win from a poor position of 78/5 while chasing down 233 runs.

After Bangladesh opted to bat first, fifties from Sharmin Akhter (50) and Shorna Akter (51*) proved to be crucial taking Bangladesh to 232/6 in 50 overs, with Nonkululeko Mlaba (2/42) being top South African bowler. In the chase, SA was restricted to 78/5, but an 85-run stand between Tryon (62) and Kapp (56) provided the stability they needed. Nadine de Klerk (37*) and Masabata Klaas (10*) finished things off for Proteas, with three balls and wickets left.

Throughout the tournament so far, the top-order has not been at its best, with the skipper managing scores of 5, 14, 70 and 31. Her batting partner Tazmin Brits broke the record of most centuries by a women's player in ODIs during a calendar year, but has so far managed five runs, including two ducks in her other three outings. At number three, Anneke Bosch has managed scores of 6, 0, 1 and 28. Annerie Dercksen, the number four batter has managed 3, 2, 10 and 2.

Klerk, one of their premier all-rounder batting in the middle-order, has been the top run-getter, with 124 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 131.91, with a match-winning 84* and 37* against India and Bangladesh respectively.

Speaking after the match, Wolvaardt said in the post-match presentation, "That was a lot closer than we would have liked it to be. But, yeah, I am glad we got the points in the end. Tried to stay as patient as we could (when the team was under pressure)."

"Yeah, not ideal (talking about lack of contributions from top-order). But at least we are just getting over the line. I think there have been series and games in the past where we would just be on the losing side of these games. So I think the fact that we are just winning and that the lower order is really scoring a lot of runs is good to know."

"Again, it turns to that middle order. And you look at the likes of Kappy (Kapp), when she first comes in, then Tryon. And that was the first big partnership. And then Nadine de Klerk, getting us over the line. Definitely not the start we would have wanted with the bat. I think we had a bit of a slower start, but we were just trying to be watchful. I know they (Bangladesh) have some really skilful spinners. So we were just trying to build a partnership and bat for as long as we could. But unfortunately, we lost wickets early. But the partnership between Kapp and Chloe was amazing, just to get us back into the game. And Nadine at the end there," she concluded, while expressing optimism that in some game, the top-order will fire as a collective.

On the other hand, Bangladesh skipper Nigar Sultana expressed pride in her team's fight and how they are crying in the changing room after their loss.

"I'm really happy the way they have given their 110 per cent today. And they are very emotional right now, and they keep believing in themselves that we can get this win. So I think it was a great learning experience for us," she added.

Nigar said that the team did not want to lose wickets in the power play and wanted to build a partnership, which they did, with a 77-run stand between her and Sharmin for the third wicket.

The skipper also hailed Shorna's half-century, saying, "She definitely showed some character and showed how we should bat."

Nigar said that while they took five early wickets while defending the target like they did against England, they just could not bowl well after the 30th over.

"It was a good experience, though. And I know my team is very young. But they keep growing each and every day. And how we came back after the New Zealand game is quite brilliant. I just say be proud of how you have done in the middle (to her team). And this is not the last game we are going to play. So we have three more games left. And we should be proud. And we should keep our heads high because of the way we played, I think we have given them a tough time in the middle," she concluded. (ANI)

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