Brits Shines with Century as South Africa Triumphs Over New Zealand in World Cup Thriller

In a commanding performance at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Monday, South Africa demonstrated that their heavy loss to England was an anomaly, securing a decisive six-wicket victory over New Zealand in a Women’s World Cup league match.

Chasing a target of 232, Tazmin Brits (101 off 89 balls, 15 fours, 1 six) and Sune Luus (83 not out off 114 balls, 10 fours, 1 six) stabilized the innings after the early dismissal of captain Laura Wolvaardt. Although Brits displayed typical jitters early on, she only showed nerves approaching her century, celebrating with a new ‘archer’ gesture upon reaching the landmark.

Lea Tahuhu eventually bowled Brits in the 32nd over, momentarily slowing South Africa’s advance. However, Luus steadily guided the team to victory with nearly 10 overs to spare. This win significantly improved South Africa’s Net Run Rate, boosting it from -3.733 to -1.402.

Brits became just the third South African woman to hit an ODI World Cup century, following in the footsteps of Linda Olivier and Marizanne Kapp. She also set a new record for reaching seven centuries in the format in only 41 innings, surpassing Australian legend Meg Lanning’s record of 44 innings.

Earlier, New Zealand, choosing to bat first, experienced a disastrous start as Kapp dismissed Suzie Bates—the first woman to reach 350 international caps—on the very first ball.

The Proteas capitalized on the sluggish pitch conditions, allowing only 38 runs during the PowerPlay and delivering 49 dot balls—the highest in any innings of the tournament so far.

RELATED | ‘We are not taking Bangladesh lightly’, says England spinner Charlie Dean

Amelia Kerr’s dismissal intensified the pressure, placing the responsibility of stabilizing the innings on Sophie Devine once again. Meanwhile, Chloe Tryon secured her 100th international wicket by removing the struggling Georgia Plimmer, forcing Brooke Halliday to try and improve her team’s dwindling scoring rate.

However, Nonkululeko Mlaba dismissed Halliday, and the lower middle order crumbled, losing seven wickets for just 44 runs. This collapse contributed significantly to the White Ferns’ consecutive defeats.

Published on Oct 06, 2025