India beat South Africa to stay unbeaten and top World Cup standings

India and South Africa met in the 10th match of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACAVDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, October 9, with India aiming to consolidate an unbeaten start and South Africa looking to build on a morale-boosting win over New Zealand. The match carried added weight for the hosts: a victory would allow India to retake the top spot in the eight‑team standings ahead of a high‑profile meeting with Australia at the same venue on October 12.

India entered the game with two wins from two group matches, but their batting has drawn scrutiny. In the earlier World Cup fixtures the top order repeatedly got starts without converting them into big scores; a late cameo from Richa Ghosh helped the team post a defendable total in Colombo against Pakistan. South Africa arrived with one win and one defeat, having rebounded from a heavy loss to England by chasing down New Zealand on October 6 thanks to a century from Tazmin Brits and a four‑wicket haul by Nonkululeko Mlaba.

South Africa’s chase in Visakhapatnam suffered a dramatic early blow when Kranti Gaud produced a stunning caught‑and‑bowled to dismiss Brits for a duck at 2.2 overs,...