Watch: Laura Wolvaardt’s brutal shot strikes Zaida James on face in Women's T20 World Cup 2024

West Indies Women's National Cricket Team all-rounder Zaida James faced a life-threatening blow on the face during the game against South Africa Women's National Cricket Team. The 3rd match of the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 took place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.

Zaida James didn't have the kind of start she would've wanted in the tournament as she had a terrible outing in the game. Even before she could've made an impact, she was taken off the field and then didn't participate in the game, leaving the team with one bowler short.

Zaida James was brought into the attack early on and the first ball that she bowled brought her end to the game. On the 1st ball of the second over, the left-arm spinner bowled a tossed-up delivery that invited South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt into drive.

Laura Wolvaardt came down the track and hit it straight back at the bowler. The ball flicked her hand and then smashed into the jaw. She was down immediately and looked in immense pain as he coped with a life-threatening blow on the face in her first over in the tournament.

As she got injured, the close-in fielders rushed in to check on her, and also physios rushed to check on Zaida James. At first, her left jaw looked swollen and after analyzing her, the physio deemed her unfit and took her off. She walked off the field in pain and then didn't return to play.

Here's the video:

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Coming to the match, the South Africa Women's National Cricket Team completed a dominating 10-wicket game. West Indies didn't have a great outing with the bat as they got all out for just 118 runs with Nonkululeko Mlaba taking 4 wickets.

In the chase, South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt slammed a magnificent half-century and ended with innings of unbeaten 59 runs. Along with her, Tazmin Brits also played a vital hand, scoring an unbeaten 57 runs as the proteas team completed a comfortable 10-wicket win.

Not that easy, one of the harder knocks I've had physically - South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt

South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt talked about the win, saying that it was a hard knock for her. She lauded her team for the terrific all-round performance and while speaking to broadcasters, Laura Wolvaardt elaborated:

"Not that easy, one of the harder knocks I've had physically, especially fielding first at 2 PM and then coming in to bat after that was definitely not easy. It's not ideal (over-rate); I had to squeeze in quite a bit of spin after the halfway mark. We were like 7 minutes down at one stage.

"Tough to manage with the heat, we were able to make it. Excellent all-round. The way Kapp started with the ball was amazing and then to have Mlaba take four wickets, it's amazing. And then to win it with ten in the shed is amazing as well," Laura Wolvaardt concluded.