Marizanne Kapp held her nerve under the most severe pressure to steer South Africa to a thrilling two-wicket victory over New Zealand at the ICC Women’s World Cup at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
Kapp struck an undefeated 34 to take her team to the edge of the line before tailender Ayabonga Khaka struck the winning run with three balls remaining.
South Africa looked to be cruising to victory when Laura Wolvaardt struck her third consecutive half-century to yet again anchor South Africa's innings.
Wolvaardt has been a pillar of strength at the top of the order with scores of 41, 75, 77 and 67 now against the White Ferns.
Although she once again benefitted from a drop chance, the stylish right-hander is certainly taking full advantage of her good fortune at the moment.
Her partnership at the top of the order is not yet flourishing with Lizelle Lee as yet after the pair were involved in a mix-up that led to Lee being run out attempting a third run. Lee was dismissed for 17.
She's also been able to absorb the pressure caused by Tazmin Brits' continued struggles at No 3 before flourishing with captain Sune Luus.
The pair certainly enjoy batting together with their average partnership above 65. They added another 88 for the third wicket on Thursday evening through smart running between the wickets punctuated by the odd boundary.
Luus is certainly enjoying the responsibility of batting at No 4 as she creates plenty of impetus when she arrives at the crease.
However, Luus' dismissal for 51 set in motion a few overs of panic with South Africa's middle to lower order almost stealing defeat from the jaws of victory.
GOLDEN ARM
Earlier, South Africa's bowling unit delivered a masterclass in death bowling to dismiss New Zealand for 228 all out.
The Proteas claimed 6/30 in the final 7.4 overs with the seamers Shabnim Ismail (3/27), Marizanne Kapp (2/44) and Ayabonga Khaka (3/31) once again led the way.
The performance was even more impressive as they were a bowler short for the majority of the innings after Masabata Klaas was forced to leave the field with a shoulder injury early on.
New Zealand had been primed for a much bigger target after captain Sophie Devine had anchored her team's innings.
Devine struck a composed 93 off 101 balls (12x4, 1x6). The skipper formed part of two crucial partnerships of 81 with Amelia Kerr (42) and 80 with Maddy Green (30) for the second and fourth wickets respectively.
The stand with Kerr was particularly threatening after the duo were paired together when opener Suzie Bates fell early on to a beautiful in-swinger from the impressive Shabnim Ismail.
They were content to soak up the initial pressure in the first Powerplay edging to New Zealand to 19/1 after the first nine overs.
However, with South Africa's frontline bowlers seen off, Devine and Kerr then launched an attack that yielded 67 runs in the next nine overs at 7.4 runs to the overs to swing the entire momentum of the contest.
South Africa were under pressure with the ball for the first time in the tournament.
This situation caused captain Sune Luus to bring herself on as early as the 16th over of the innings. The skipper, though, had the golden arm as she trapped the dangerous Kerr with a full toss that struck the right-hander plumb in front.
It was the breakthrough South Africa were desperate for and they were soon celebrating again when Ayabonga Khaka had Amy Satterthwaite caught behind in the following over.
New Zealand rebuilt again through Devine and Green, but an excellent piece of fielding from Laura Wolvaardt at cover point brought about the end of this partnership with Green caught short of her ground.
South Africa's bowlers were not going to relent for a second time and now turned the screws on through their senior trio of Ismail, Kapp and Khaka to ensure New Zealand finished with a target well below par at this high-scoring ground.
Kapp and Khaka were then required to do the job with the bat too and duly finished off the game to leave South Africa unbeaten after four matches.
The Kiwis, meanwhile, are on the brink of elimination after their third defeat in five matches and face a winner-takes-all clash against England in Auckland on Saturday.
NEW ZEALAND: Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine (capt), Amelia Kerr, Amy Satterthwaite, Maddy Green, Frances Mackay, Katey Martin (wk), Brooke Halliday, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Kerr, Hannah Rowe
SOUTH AFRICA: Lizelle Lee, Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus (capt), Mignon du Preez, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Trisha Chetty (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka