But SA captain Laura Wolvaardt spoke about her faith in their ability to bounce back and their preparation for the World Cup. And on Monday evening in Indore, they staged a turnaround in stunning fashion, completing a six-wicket win and knocking a big chunk of their net run rate deficit.

At the centre of it all was Tazmin Brits. The opener, who has been in incredible form this year, notched up her fifth ODI century of the year becoming the only woman to do so. Her century off 87 balls ensured she also became the fastest to an overall seven ODI centuries – all it took was 41 innings, bettering Meg Lanning’s record of doing so in 44 innings.

Chasing 232, Brits and Sune Luus combined to stitch a solid 159-run partnership – the highest-ever for South Africa at a World Cup after they lost their form batter and skipper Laura Wolvaardt for 14.

The highlight of the partnership was the strike rotation and running between the wickets, not allowing the run-rate to get out of hand at any stage. While Brits was the aggressor, finishing with a strike rate of 113, Luus held the other end, batting at a significantly lower strike rate.

After Brits was dismissed by Leah Tahuhu in the 32nd over, Luus saw through the innings with a calm and composed unbeaten 83, finishing the match with 9.1 overs to spare.

With this win, the situation doesn’t look as grim for South Africa as it was after the opening defeat but the same cannot be said for New Zealand who have now lost both their matches.

Earlier, Sophie Devine had provided impetus to the New Zealand innings with her 85 – picking up where she left off after her century against Australia. Although Suzie Bates was trapped lbw for nought by Marizanne Kapp in the first over itself, Georgia Plimmer (31) laid the foundation for New Zealand. Devine was doing the heavy lifting in the 86-run partnership, but Plimmer’s slow approach will need reassessment ahead of remaining matches.

Devine, then, combined with Brooke Halliday (45) to add 86 runs but the rest of the line-up could not provide a final flourish – they lost the last 7 wickets for just 44 runs.

While it was Brits with the bat, it was spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba (4/40) who made an impact with the ball as she tied the New Zealand batting down in the latter stages, ensuring the White Ferns finished short of a competitive total.

The tournament was expected to be a competitive one and with big losses handed to both New Zealand and South Africa, so far – the race for the semi-finals is likely to heat up. “It probably puts a little bit more pressure on these remaining games, but I think that’s a good thing,” said captain Devine. “We know exactly where we stand and what we have to do. We’ll go and reflect on this game.”