Win against India perfect warm-up for England semi, says Du Preez

Veteran batter Mignon de Preez believes SA’s Women’s World Cup victory against India was the tonic the team needed heading into Thursday’s semifinal against defending champions England in Christchurch‚ New Zealand.

India were knocked out of the World Cup after a three-wicket defeat to SA was sealed with the final ball of the game‚ as Du Preez’s unbeaten 52 took the Proteas over the line.

SA had already secured second place and a spot in the semifinals joining unbeaten Australia‚ who took a maximum 14 points from the group stage. England and the West Indies qualified after India failed to defend 274/7.

Even though the result had no bearing on SA’s passage to the knockout stages‚ Du Preez believed it was important for her side to get back to winning ways with a big run chase for victory.

“For us it was about fine-tuning and we know how important momentum in a tournament like this can be for us‚” she said. “We lost the game against Australia and then we had a game rained off‚ so we haven’t had another win under the belt for a few days.

“We knew this was important for us going into the back end of the tournament to get a bit of momentum. We definitely wanted to play to our standards and do the best we could‚ and I think we did just that.”

India’s seamers‚ Meghna Singh and Pooja Vastrakar‚ were unable to make inroads as SA chased 275‚ but part-time spinner Harmanpreet Kaur pulled her side back into the contest with the big wickets of Laura Wolvaardt and skipper Sune Luus.

Wolvaardt was the day’s top scorer with 80‚ which laid the foundation for SA’s remarkable chase after Smriti Mandhana and captain Mithali Raj had posted 71 and 68 in India’s total.

Du Preez would break Indian hearts as she hit the winning run‚ having been reprieved two balls prior when her dismissal was chalked off due to a no-ball from Deepti Sharma.

Du Preez had struggled for form in previous games but relished being out in the middle as she made an unbeaten half-century to see the Proteas home.

“The best words would be that it was a ‘rollercoaster ride’. There were lots of ups and downs‚” Du Preez said. “I think myself and [Marizanne] Kapp were going really well‚ so we knew between the two of us if we could take it as deep as possible‚ and we knew what Chloe [Tryon] can do.

“As soon as Chloe came in‚ she made it quite easy. Then getting out again. It goes up and down all the time.”

There was drama in the final over as Du Preez’s wicket would have fallen to a catch‚ but it came on a no-ball.

“I didn’t know it was a no-ball‚ so obviously I thought I’d let the team down because we only needed a run a ball‚ so I could have probably just tried to hit on the ground. It didn’t go where I wanted. I was targeting straight over the bowler’s head and I dragged it a bit.

“I got a bit of luck on my side‚ finally. I haven’t felt I had luck throughout the tournament yet. It was quite special to be there at the end and get over the line.”

Holders England won their last group match in style and West Indies benefited from SA’s victory over India to make the semifinals.

The outcome triggered wild celebration in the West Indies dressing room but they face a mammoth task against top-ranked Australia in Wednesday’s semifinal in Wellington.

World Cup semifinals: 

Wednesday: Australia v West Indies‚ Basin Reserve‚ Wellington (midnight on Tuesday SA time)

Thursday: SA v England‚ Hagley Oval‚ Christchurch (3am SA time)