Kapp’s unbeaten 81 floors India for their first World Cup defeat

India had been the team nobody in Group 1 wanted to face. Two games, two big wins, a net run rate climbing towards the absurd. Then Marizanne Kapp walked out at Old Trafford and reminded them that one player on song can flatten the best-laid plans. Her unbeaten 81 carried South Africa to a six-wicket win on Sunday, handing India their first defeat of the Women’s T20 World Cup and turning Group 1 back into a contest.

A start India could not build on

Set up properly, 158 for 7 should have been enough on a used surface. India just never kicked on. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma flew out of the blocks, Shafali in particular looking ready to bury the game inside the powerplay before she fell for 31 off 15. Mandhana made 17 off 12 and also went early, and from there the innings kept stalling. Harmanpreet Kaur, playing the match that made her the first cricketer in either the men’s or women’s game to reach 200 T20 internationals, chipped in with 24. Deepti Sharma’s 29 off 21 gave the total a respectable look, but South Africa, through Shabnim Ismail and Kapp herself, kept finding a wicket every time India threatened to cut loose.

Kapp takes it away

The chase started badly for South Africa. Shree Charani had them 25 for 2 and India, with the new ball biting, looked like they would defend it comfortably. What followed was the difference between the sides on the day. Kapp and Tazmin Brits added 97 off 63 balls, Brits playing the steady hand on her way to 40 off 36 while Kapp took the bowling apart at the other end. It was her highest score in T20 internationals, 81 not out from 45 balls, and it was not a flawless one. India put down chances, Radha Yadav shelling the most straightforward of them, and Harmanpreet admitted afterwards that the fielding had let her bowlers down. South Africa got home with five balls to spare.

Group 1 reopens

Charani’s 3 for 24 was the lone bright spot for India, who stay second in Group 1 on four points with a net run rate of 2.511 that still flatters nobody in this competition. South Africa’s win lifts them into the mix and keeps the qualification maths alive for the chasing pack. For India the warning is plain enough. The top order keeps giving them starts, but starts have a habit of going to waste, and a side that drops its chances against an opponent of this quality usually pays for it. They have time to fix both before the knockouts. They will not want too many more afternoons like this one.

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