Wolvaardt hails ‘special’ De Klerk innings
Media release
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt hailed a ‘special’ innings from Nadine de Klerk, as her unbeaten 84 powered the Proteas to an enthralling three-wicket win over India at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.
De Klerk smashed 84 off just 54 balls in one of the great Women’s Cricket World Cup innings to guide South Africa home in their chase of 252.
The number eight hit five sixes and eight fours as part of her knock, including a maximum to win the game, and Wolvaardt was full of praise for her team-mate.
She said: “I don’t think I’ve seen something like that in all of my career. That innings that Nadine played was very special. I am a bit lost for words.
“We found ourselves in a bit of a pickle early. We knew we were ahead of them the whole time so we thought if we can take it as deep as we can then we could have something special like saw did at the end.
“She [De Klerk] has been hitting like that in the nets, hitting our bowlers all over the park. The temperament that she showed batting with the lower order and timing the chase incredibly well.”
Wolvaardt played a huge role herself, anchoring the start of the innings with 70 off 111 balls while others fell regularly around her.
South Africa fell to 81 for five but were kept afloat by a crucial partnership between Wolvaardt and Chloe Tryon, who ensured the run chase went the distance with a gutsy 49.
Tryon’s partnership with De Klerk proved pivotal in shifting South Africa’s chase up a gear, and De Klerk revealed the pair thrived under the pressure.
“When me and Chloe got together, we knew we just had to take it deep,” she said.
“We are a really good side in the back 10 and we said even if we need 10s in the last five or six overs, we back ourselves to get there. It was a great partnership with Chloe, she took a lot of pressure off me.
“It just all came together. We probably left a little too much towards the back end but I am just glad it came off.
“I do like being under pressure, I like World Cups. There is no bigger stage than playing India at home. We knew we would have to be at our best today. They got to 250 which was quite a good total.
“It is great to get over the line. It shows we are capable of beating the big sides and putting up a massive fight.”
De Klerk’s innings was not the only impressive performance with the bat, as India’s Richa Ghosh top-scored with 94.
That rescued India as they floundered at 153 for seven, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur praised the wicketkeeper-batter as she looked for the positives in defeat.
“Richa has always been outstanding for us, she is someone that can always turn the game,” she said.
“Today the way she was hitting, we were very pleased to see that. She can hit big and get a big total on the board.
“It’s a long tournament. Today was a tough game for us but there is a lot of learning and a lot of positives. We have good games coming up, the important thing is to keep us in a positive frame of mind.”
ENDS