Marizanne Kapp – The shining legend for South Africa
Marizanne Kapp kept her cool in South Africa’s World Cup encounter against the New Zealand outfit and steered her side to a scintillating two-wicket win. The match was poised evenly when South Africa lost quick wickets and slipped from 161/2 to 211/7 in pursuit of a target of 230. But then, Kapp kept her cool and steered her side home.
The experienced right-hander scored a crucial 34* off 35 deliveries. Her lofted straight hit off Sophie Devine in the 49th over and the boundary past mid-wicket in the final over eased the tension in the South African camp and paved the way for the Proteas to post a thrilling win over their New Zealand counterparts.
Kapp has produced sensational performances in the 2022 World Cup with both bat and ball. In South Africa’s previous match against England, she scalped a five-wicket haul and also scored a vital 32 to help the Proteas beat England with three wickets to spare. And, in both matches (against England and New Zealand), Kapp emerged as the Player of the Match. That is not all. Even in the match against the Bangladesh side, Kapp top-scored for South Africa with a crucial 42.
South African skipper Sune Luus heaped praises on Kapp after her match-winning performance against New Zealand. Stating that Kapp is a woman who has nerves of steel, Luus added that Kapp has a lot of experience under her belt to deal with pressure situations.
“Marizanne has nerves of steel. She takes it better than all of us could. She is the right person for that time of the game. She has a lot of experience. She has played all around the world in all these kinds of situations. She is just showing us all how to stay calm and back your own skill and finish the game off,” said Luus as quoted by Cricinfo.
Kapp is South Africa’s 6th highest run-getter in ODIs and has scored 2132 runs at an average of close to 30. She has also been superb with the ball and is the second-highest wicket-taker for the Proteas with 144 scalps to her name. And, this legendary cricketer is shining in every department of the game in the most important cricket tournament in the world for her country.