Sports
Cool Kapp keeps her nerve to take South Africa over the line
Fending off the opposition with the tail, Marizanne Kapp kept her nerve in a crucial cameo of 34 to clinch a narrow two-wicket win for South Africa in a low-scoring final-over World Cup thriller against New Zealand in Hamilton on Thursday. Having made a strong comeback with the ball at the death to restrict the hosts to 228 despite a well-paced 93 from skipper Sophie Devine, South Africa themselves faced a collapse after fifties from Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus. But Kapp’s experience came to the fore, amidst regular wickets, to propel South Africa to the second spot in the points table with this fourth successive win.
Despite losing the dangerous Lizelle Lee early to a run out in a cautious start, Wolvaardt dropped anchor and forged two defining partnerships that kept the chase on track for as long as she stayed at the crease. With Tasmin Brits, she added 48 runs for the second wicket stand, after South Africa posted 33/1 from their powerplay. It was during her 88-run third-wicket partnership with Luus that South Africa seemed to be taking control and cruising in their modest chase. The pair took the team past the 100-run mark in the 25th over – same as New Zealand – before the stylish opener raised a third successive fifty in the World Cup, off 72 balls, with a drive.
The duo picked up pace soon after, taking the side to 159/2 at drinks but Amelia Kerr’s twin strikes prompted a mini collapse of 3 for 9 to turn the chase on its head. The spinner first broke through the threatening partnership by trapping Wolvaardt plumb in front of the stumps after a 94-ball 67. In the following over, she ended Mignon du Preez’s stay in her 150th ODI prematurely by having her caught behind on just 1. Luus got to her fifty right after, but also ended up sending a faint nick the keeper’s way as South Africa slipped to a precarious 170/5, needing a run-a-ball 59 thereafter.
With the equation down to 31 off 30, another mini collapse ensued when Mackay struck twice in her successive overs to take out Chloe Tryon (14) and Trisha Chetty (3). But Kapp hit back to back boundaries off Tahuhu in the interim to keep up with the asking rate. Devine brought herself back into the attack for the penultimate over when South Africa needed 14 off 12, and knocked over Ismail’s stumps with a slower one but regaining strike, Kapp found two timely boundaries to take her side over the line from a position they ideally shouldn’t have found themselves in to begin with.
Earlier in the day, Devine put on two handy partnerships – worth 81 with Amelia for the second wicket and another of 80 runs with Maddy Green for the fourth – but the hosts fluffed up the death-overs acceleration to fold for a sub-par 228 despite being in a position of strength at 198/4 when the skipper fell seven short of her second World Cup century. Credit due to the pacers, led by Ismail and Khaka, who tightened their lines and lengths, and used the slower ones to good effect to prompt a fatal collapse of 6 for 30.
Ismail forced New Zealand to rethink when she bowled Suzie Bates through the game with a ripper in just the third over after the hosts elected to bat first. Runs dried up as Devine and Amelia sought to stabalize the innings, taking New Zealand to just 30/1 after powerplay. However, erratic bowling from the visitors ensued and Devine started to free her arms more regularly. South Africa were either too short or gave too much room as Devine took full toll to push the run-rate up. Having taken 13 deliveries to open her account, Kerr also caught up and even briefly went on to out-score her captain into the 40s.
Against the run of play, though, Luus trapped Amelia lbw on 42 and three balls later Khaka had Amy Satterthwaite edging behind to leave Devine to rebuild once again. From 88/3 after 20, it took the hosts another five overs to reach triple figures while Devine raised her personal fifty, off 61 deliveries, with the second of the back to back boundaries in the same over.
The pair ticked along as New Zealand upped their scoring once again but Green’s untimely run out gave South Africa an opening going into the death overs. Devine, who marched into the 90s with a mighty slog over long-on ropes off Marizanne Kapp, was yorked by Khaka in the very next over, reducing them to 198 for 5. From there on, the South African pace battery did not let the lower-order breathe. Ismail got through the defences of Katey Martin and La Tahuhu, Kapp bounced back to claim two in two in the 46th over and Ismail polished it in the 48th with her third.
Brief scores:
New Zealand
228 all out in 47.5 overs (Sophie Devine 93, Amelia Kerr 42; Shabnim Ismail 3-27, Ayabonga Khaka 3-31) lost to South Africa 229/8 in 49.3 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 67, Sune Luus 51, Marizanne Kapp 34*; Amelia Kerr 3-50, Frances Mackay 2-49) by 2 wickets
North Korea has held the Pyongyang International Marathon for the first time in six years, welcoming some 200 foreign runners to the streets of the reclusive country’s capital.
The marathon, which was launched in 1981, took place annually in April to celebrate the birth of its founding leader Kim Il Sung.
Before Sunday’s marathon, the race was last held in 2019, wherein 950 foreigners participated. North Korea sealed itself off the following year, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
North Korea has been slow to reopen since, allowing only Russian tourists into its capital since last year.
Runners have had to enter the country as part of an organised tour group, as was the case before the pandemic.
Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency listed as an “exclusive partner” on the event website, offers six-day marathon tours at 2,195 euros ($2,406) including flights to and from Beijing.
“The Pyongyang Marathon is an extremely unique experience as it provides an opportunity to interact with locals,” the agency wrote on its website.
Sunday’s marathon route took participants past landmarks across the city, including the Kim Il Sung stadium, the Arch of Triumph built to commemorate Kim Il Sung’s role in resisting Japanese rule, and the Mirae Future Scientists’ Street said to be a residential district for scientists and engineers.
Pictures online show the stadium – where runners start and finish their race – filled with spectators, many of them cheering and waving gold-coloured paper flags.
Pak Kum Dong, a North Korean runner, told Reuters news agency: “The eyes of our people on me helped me to bear the difficulties whenever I feel tired.”
There is no publicly available information on race results.
North Korea had only statred to scale back Covid-19 restrictions in the middle of 2023.
In Feburary, it allowed some Western tourists into the remote, eastern city Rason, but suspended those tours just weeks after.
[BBC]
Noor Ahmad, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left-arm wristspinner, continues to head the Purple Cap table with ten wickets from four games. His spell of 4 for 18 in CSK’s first game against MI, remains his best so far.
DC’s Mitchell Starc who picked up his maiden five-for in T20s, against SRH remains second on the list with nine wickets in three games.
GT’s Mohammed Siraj equalled Starc’s tally on Sunday night with his own IPL best, albeit he has played four games to Starc’s three. Siraj picked up 4 for 17 against SRH to hand them their four successive loss, and was named the Player of the Match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) suffered another batting malfunction, this time on a slow, black-soil surface at home, crashing to their fourth successive defeat in IPL 2025. Having lost Travishek in the powerplay, SRH waited until the 13th over to see the first six of the innings, and managed only one more after that Mohammad Siraj caused irreparable damage right from the start, ending with his career-best IPL figures of 4 for 17.
Pat Cummins’ cameo (22* off nine balls) and then his dismissal of Jos Buttler for a duck in Gujarat Titans’ (GT) chase of 153 gave SRH some hope, but that faded away once Washington Sundar clattered 23 off nine balls in the powerplay. Earlier in the day, GT didn’t need Washington with the ball, but his attacking enterprise at No. 4 settled their chase on a slow pitch. Washington fell agonisingly short of a maiden IPL half-century, but his captain Shubman Gill ushered GT home, with an unbeaten 61 off 43 balls, along with Sherfane Rutherford.
Siraj had sparked the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to life when he gave Travis Head a send-off in Adelaide last December. Four months on, Siraj was bowling to Head for the first time in T20s, and the battle lasted just five balls. After Head scored two fours off Siraj, the fast bowler struck with his trademark wobble-seam delivery, having him chip a catch to midwicket for 8.
Abhishek Sharma hit four fours before Siraj had him miscuing a catch to mid-on in his third over of the powerplay. It was Siraj’s 100th wicket in the IPL and sixth in the powerplay, the most by a bowler in that phase so far this season, with an economy rate of 6.27.
Siraj then returned in the death to york both Aniket Verma, the last recognised batter for SRH, and Simarjeet Singh, their Impact Player.
With both Head and Abhishek gone early,Rashid Khan, who was coming into this game on the back of figures of 4-0-54-0, could afford to ease himself in. He started fairly well by giving away just 10 runs in his first two overs, but when he erred in length, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klassen dispatched him to the fence. Rashid finished with 4-0-31-0, going wicketless for a third successive game, and with tournament figures of 1 for 143 in 14 overs at an economy rate of 10.21
Left-arm fingerspinner Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, on the other hand, showed remarkable control over his length and variations. He claimed the big wicket of Klaasen by knocking him over with a quick dart, which skidded off the pitch, for 27 off 19 balls. Sai Kishore also had Reddy holing out for 31 off 34 balls and finished with 4-0-24-2.
That SRH passed 150 was down to Cummins’ late blows. He was the only SRH batter in the top eight to have a strike rate of over 160.
It appeared like GT had handed a franchise debut to Washington to primarily match his offspin up with SRH’s left-hander heavy top order. But with Siraj dominating the powerplay and Sai Kishore taking care of the middle overs, GT ended up not using his offspin.
Washington then walked out to bat at No. 4 after his childhood friend B Sai Sudarshan and Buttler fell cheaply in successive overs. Washington took advantage of the last over of the powerplay, smoking Simarjeet for two sixes and two fours. It provided a throwback to Washington of 2016, when he opened the batting, alongside Abhinav Mukund, in the TNPL and showed the intent to hit over the top. Just like that, Washington dumped SRH’s Impact Player out of the attack.
Washington continued to attack even after that. When the ambidextrous Kamindu Mendis darted one on the stumps with his right hand, Washington manufactured swinging room and laced him over extra-cover for four. Washington seemed set for a fifty until he holed out one shy of the landmark in the 14th over.
Gill, who had already crossed 50 by that point, finished the job along with Rutherford, who hit an unbeaten 35 off 16 balls.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 153 for 3 in 16.4 overs (Shubman Gill 61*, Washington Sundar 49, Sherfaine Rutherford 35*; Mohammed Shami 2-28, Pat Cumminss 1-26) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 152 for 8 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 18, Ishan Krishan 17, Nitish Kumar Reddy 31, Heinrich Klassen 27, Aniket Verma 18,Pat Cummins 22*; Mohammed Siraj 4-17, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore 2-24, Prasidh Krishna 2-25)by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
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