Kapp, second right, provided the early breakthrough by castling the in-form Smriti.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
Marizanne Kapp belongs to that rare species in cricket. The genuine all-rounder. Two players in one.
If she doesn’t get you with the ball, she will with the bat. On certain days, she will cause enough damage with the ball, and then more with the bat.
Sunday was such a day. At the receiving end of it was India. And it was potentially the most important match of Group A in the T20 Women’s World Cup.
Kapp disrupted India’s flying start, by clean bowling its best batter Smriti Mandhana in just the third over. The South Africans then kept the rest of the Indian strokemakers in check.
The Proteas wobbled at the start in their chase of 159, thanks to another superb piece of bowling from young spinner Shree Charani. However, Kapp, coming in at No. 4, guided her side to a crucial win at Old Trafford with an unbeaten 81 from just 45 balls.
“This is probably the best T20 innings that I have played, especially against the quality Indian attack on this specific wicket, that probably suits them a bit more,” she said. “But we know it is always a fight against India. Doing well against India feels good.”
The 36-year-old wasn’t, however, feeling well before the match, Kapp revealed. “I was actually a little bit ill in the warm-up,” she said. “I just didn’t feel well at all. I went into the change room and even cried a bit. It was just a wonderful game of cricket for us.”
She said her third-wicket stand of 97 with Tazmin Brits, who was playing her first game of the tournament, was important. “I think the biggest thing at that stage was just getting a bit of a partnership,” she said. “It is sometimes so difficult batting those periods of a T20 game because you almost can’t go too hard, as you can’t afford to lose another wicket,” she said.
About expressing her emotions on the ground, Kapp said: “People always say I am so angry when I play cricket. Show me a bowler who is going to smile when somebody hits a six. I actually get annoyed at bowlers smiling at getting smashed for sixes and fours or bowling wides”.
Published – June 22, 2026 06:21 pm IST
