In a chase of 159, Marizanne, who picked two wickets earlier, struck a career\u2011best unbeaten 81 off 45 balls to lead her side to victory with five balls to spare. Her 97\u2011run stand with Tazmin Brits, who hit 40, became decisive in a chase that had looked improbable for the Proteas after a sluggish start in the power-play.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWhat a finish. What a game. I think we were very stressed up on the bench there. I think to win from the position that we were in was absolutely incredible, and it\u2019s probably one of the best knocks I\u2019ve seen under so much pressure. And to do it against a side that we lost the final to as well is pretty special,\u201d Laura said at the conclusion of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She went on to hail Marizanne\u2019s qualities as a competitor. \u201cI think she\u2019s probably the biggest big match player that I\u2019ve ever seen. I\u2019m really glad she\u2019s on my team. It seems like whenever there\u2019s something on the line or we\u2019re playing a World Cup, she finds a way to bring out her best cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cActually, I think she wasn\u2019t actually feeling that great today, but I hope she doesn\u2019t feel great every day if she\u2019s going to play like this. It was absolutely incredible. I think she\u2019s two players in one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe way that she bowled was awesome as well. The way that she bowled in the previous game and now to play a knock like this is incredible. She just has that competitive nature, I guess, and it just brings out the best in her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On tackling spin after a difficult start to the chase, Laura stated, \u201cDidn\u2019t get off to the best start. I think we would have liked to get ahead of it a bit early. But yeah, I think in a game like this, we actually wanted to get ahead of the rate early because we knew the slow spin would be difficult later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit too much to do for the back end, but it took something special to get it done, thankfully. But I think we can definitely be a bit better, just even if it\u2019s not there in the power play, just getting off strike.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She also praised the Proteas bowling effort that restricted India to 158\/7. \u201cThat was huge. I think after that power play, they got 50\u2011odd. It looked like they were absolutely flying. I think the way that they started, the first two overs, they pretty much smashed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo to be able to come back like that, I think our bowlers in the middle were excellent. The spinners all changed up pretty well. And I think we just didn\u2019t leave the stumps and didn\u2019t give them much to work with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
She also praised the Proteas bowling effort that restricted India to 158\/7. \u201cThat was huge. I think after that power play, they got 50\u2011odd. It looked like they were absolutely flying. I think the way that they started, the first two overs, they pretty much smashed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On what the win means for South Africa\u2019s campaign, Laura said, \u201cIt\u2019s huge. I think if we lost this game, would have been almost out of the competition. So just to be able to stay in it, we\u2019ve got two more big games and a couple of other things could still go wrong. But I think just knowing that we\u2019ve got this one behind us was probably one of the big games leading into this tournament for us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n