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De Klerk smashes six into the stands to give South Africa 'famous' win over India
BySam Drury
BBC Sport journalist
Nadine de Klerk hit a blistering unbeaten 84 from 54 balls as South Africa produced a stunning comeback to beat co-hosts India by three wickets at the Women's World Cup.
Having slipped to 81-5 in reply to India's 251 all out, the Proteas looked destined for a second defeat in three games before De Klerk's intervention.
The all-rounder dismantled an increasingly bewildered India attack, launching five sixes on her way to her highest international score - the fifth of those blows sealing the win with seven balls to spare.
Captain Laura Wolvaardt started the South Africa recovery, hitting a patient 70 from 111 balls, with her 61-run stand alongside Chloe Tryon laying the foundations for De Klerk's late onslaught.
Tryon, who made 49 from 66, put on another 69 with De Klerk in quick time before the latter saw the job through to leave India fans and players alike wondering how the game had got away from them.
For much of the second innings, it was India who would have expected to be talking about battling back to claim victory after wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh had bludgeoned 94 from 77 to rescue them from 102-6.
However, even her remarkable innings was not enough thanks to the clean hitting of De Klerk.
The result means South Africa go level on points with India, who miss the chance to go top of the table as Harmanpreet Kaur's side suffer their first defeat of the tournament.
Ghosh's dazzling knock in vain
Ghosh hits 94 off 77 balls to help India recover from batting collapse
After Australia had shown their strength in depth with match-winning centuries from Ash Gardner and Beth Mooney saving them from shock defeats already in this tournament, Wednesday in Visakhapatnam looked like being India's response.
Ghosh's brilliant counter-attacking knock looked like it was going to turn something of a crisis situation at 102-6, after a collapse of 5-19, into a comfortable win.
Coming in at number eight, the 22-year-old accumulated steadily alongside Amanjot Kaur before exploding into life after that partnership was broken.
Ghosh was irresistible, hitting 58 from 33 balls after the fall of the seventh wicket, and showing herself to be a 360 player with boundaries all around the ground.
Any width was unceremoniously punished but anything too straight would travel, too - the margin for error for South Africa's bowlers was razor thin.
Ghosh might not have quite have been able to match Gardner and Mooney, as she narrowly missed out on a maiden international century, but the innings seemed certain to prove every bit as important.
For around 40 overs of the chase it was. Then De Klerk happened.
