South Africa make historic leap into World Cup final

Led by Laura Wolvaardt's 143-ball 169 and Marizanne Kapp's all-round show (42 & 5/20), South Africa secured their place in the final of the 2025 World Cup, for the first time ever in ODIs. After amassing a massive 319 for 7 in Guwahati, they bundled out England for 194, securing a thumping 125-run win.

South Africa's charge was led by the openers, Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits, who composed a 116-run stand for the opening wicket after being put in to bat. However, Sophie Eccelestone's double burst in the 23rd over broke that momentum. Brits was bowled while attempting to reverse sweep the spinner while Anneke Bosch was cleaned up for a duck. In the next over, Sune Luus departed for 1 after inside edging a pull on to the stumps.

Wolvaardt and Kapp steadied the innings, but the latter ensured the momentum wasn't lost. She cracked a breezy 42 before Ecclestone returned to the attack and broke the partnership again. That dismissal again triggered a collapse as South Africa were soon reduced to 202 for 6.

However, Wolvaardt saved her best for the latter half of the innings and counter-attacked the English bowlers. Her innings, which included 20 boundaries and 4 sixes, laid the foundation for South Africa to go past the 300-run mark, with some brief blitz from Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk. Linsey Smith especially bore the brunt of this late attack by the South Africans.

In response, England were in trouble early on, losing their top-three with only one run on the board. Pushed on the backfoot, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey revived the innings with a cautious approach. The duo added 107 runs for the fourth wicket before Capsey fell to Sune Luus soon after notching up her half-century.

Sciver-Brunt attempted to continue keeping England's response strong in the company of Danni Wyatt-Hodge, but Kapp returned to the attack and had her dismissed on 64. She came and broke the back of the middle order. Despite Linsey Smith's resistance, England couldn't put up much of a fight in the end and were eliminated from the tournament.

South Africa will now face the winner of the India vs Australia clash in the final, set to be played in Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium.

Brief Scores: South Africa 319/7 in 50 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 169, Tazmin Brits 45; Sophie Ecclestone 4-44) beat England 194 in 42.3 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 64, Alice Capsey 50; Marizanne Kapp 5-20) by 125 runs