Day 23 Talking Points: Du Preez makes India pay; Bangladesh show glimpses of greatness again

Hagley Oval, Christchurch - Match 28

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Shafali Verma ensured India got off to a flyer when she plundered four boundaries from the first seven balls she faced, including three in a row off Shabnim Ismail.

The 18-year-old opener went on to make 53 runs off 46 balls with eight boundaries and it took a horrible mix up with Smriti Mandhana off a short single to bring her innings to a premature end.

Verma was playing only her fourth match of CWC22 but has got better with each innings and the young gun should become an exciting feature at the top of India’s batting order for many years to come.

Fifites from three of the top four batters set the foundation to go big in the death overs. However, India failed to capitalize on the start and eventually fell short of the 300-run mark that looked par at one point.

Harmanpreet Kaur looked far from her hard-hitting best. South African bowlers too were tight in their lines and lengths, using the short ball and the slower one to good effect to slow down the scoring rate. India found only three boundaries in the last 10 overs and ended up scoring only 51 runs in that period.

It eventually came back to haunt India as South Africa managed to clinch the thriller off the last ball of the match.

Mignon du Preez hit the winning runs to bring curtains on India's World Cup campaign, as India were left to rue the two lifelines that they gave the South African batter.

Walking in to bat at 145/3, Du Preez was slow off the blocks but with other batters taking the attack to the bowlers at the other end, played the perfect second fiddle and ensured that she was there till the end.

She got her first lifeline when she was batting on 32 off 47 when Smriti Mandhana spilt a regulation catch at the long-on. Du Preez rubbed salt on the wounds with two boundaries in the next over.

India gave Du Preez her second lifeline in the final over of the game. Needing three to win off two, the South African batter smashed the ball down the ground and Harmanpreet Kaur gobbled it up. Celebrations broke out in the India camp before the third umpire intervened to signal a no-ball as Deepti Sharma had overstepped.

The equation came down to two of two and Du Preez hit the winning runs to put the final nail in India's coffin.

Basin Reserve, Wellington - Match 27

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The Women’s World Cup debutants helped light up the tournament with their enthusiasm and animated celebrations but also produced plenty of quality cricket to prove they belong on the big stage.

Led by the batting of Fatima Hoque (173 runs) and spin bowling of Salma Khatun (10 wickets), Nahida Akter (5), Rumana Ahmed (5) and Fahima Khatun (4), Bangladesh were competitive in most matches and leave with a stirring win over Pakistan.

Bangladesh will be the only team not to concede more than 250 runs in an innings at CWC22 and generally used up their allotted overs while batting, but the next step in their development will be to find ways to score more without taking too many risks especially when chasing gettable totals.

The defending champions brought an experienced batting line-up to CWC22 but their inconsistencies have often meant relying on the emergence of Sophia Dunkley to help steer the innings.

The 23-year-old arrived at the tournament with only 10 ODIs to her name but has quickly looked at home at the top level as she made a start in each of her innings so far.

This was Dunkley’s best chance yet to post a big score and she didn’t let it pass, bringing up her second ODI half-century on the way to 67 off 72 balls with eight boundaries.

Some of England’s more established stars might be talked about more heading into their semi-final, but Dunkley increasingly looks like a key to whether they might make the big leap into the final.