Brilliant Proteas win final-ball thriller, break Indian hearts in record World Cup chase
The Proteas completed the group stages of their 2022 World Cup campaign with an incredible three-wicket, final-ball victory over India at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Sunday.
They had already secured second position on the log going into the match, however, and they will now meet a resurgent England in the semi-finals - also in Christchurch - on Thursday.
SCOREBOARD | Proteas v India
Australia and West Indies will meet in the other semi-final.
It was a superbly executed batting performance from the Proteas and the second-highest score ever chased down at a Women's World Cup (and South Africa's record high), and while it does not influence their position on the log, this is exactly the injection of confidence they needed heading into the business end of the competition.
Laura Wolvaardt's 80 off 79 was immense, while former captain Mignon du Preez (55* off 63) provided the composure needed to see her side home when tensions were high.
There was drama in the final over when Du Preez thought she was out, only for replays to reveal that spinner Deepti Sharma had bowled a no-ball.
Batting first after they won the toss, India posted a hugely competitive 274/7 from their 50 overs thanks to top efforts from Smriti Mandhana (71 off 84), Shafali Verma (53 off 46), skipper Mithali Raj (68 off 84) and Harmanpreet Kaur (48 off 57).
The Proteas bowlers struggled to control proceedings, though they did restrict India's momentum in the middle overs and the score could have been a lot more.
Shabnim Ismail (2/42) and the returning Masabata Klaas (2/38) were the pick of the bowlers.
South Africa's run chase, once again, was based around the impressive Wolvaardt.
The 22-year-old was superb once more, scoring her fifth half-century in