India Women secured a stupendous ten-wicket win to level the series against South Africa Women 1-1 at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Indian bowlers, led by Pooja Vastrakar with four wickets and Radha Yadav with three wickets restricted South Africa to 84, which was followed by a good solid batting performance by the opening pair of Shefali Verma and Smriti Mandhana who chased down the target in just 10.5 overs.
The match was witnessed by 14000-15000 fans, the highest attendance among the three 3 T20Is.
As Bad as It Gets
The visitors disappointingly ended their India tour with their largest margin loss against India. Their only win came in the first T20I held at the same venue during their entire tour of three ODIs, a test match, and three T20Is
After two excellent batting performances, one ending in a win and the second getting washed out, the Proteas would have felt confident coming into this game to post a good total.
Unfortunately, the Indian Women bowlers exploited the conditions well, by maintaining discipline in their bowling and taking their catches well to deny South Africa any leeway to get away with the match after a strong start.
India Shine with both Bat and Ball
It was a field day for the Indian team with both bat and ball as they first restricted South Africa to a double-digit total and swiftly chased down the target. Pooja Vastrakar, who was adjudged player of the match and player of the series finished with an impressive 4/13 from 3.1 overs. The medium-fast bowler used Chepauk’s slower nature to her advantage.
Her spin partner Radha Yadav also made use of the conditions, finishing with 3/6 from three overs. South Africa got tangled after the first wicket and never really got going due to the immense bowling pressure and equally brilliant fielding from India.
Then came the batting of the Indian Women, who chased down the target comfortably. Shefali Verma and Smriti Mandhana continued their fine form, with the latter notching up yet another half-century by hitting a six over a fine leg to bring the win.
She remained unbeaten at 54 from 40 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes, while her partner Verma also remained unbeaten with 27 out of 25 balls with 3 fours.
Good Prelude before Asia Cup
The Indian team will be brimming with confidence after this series-leveling win. This win is also their biggest against South Africa in T20Is.
With exceptional bowling performances and strong batting to complement it, the Indian team will be in good spirits for the Asia Cup T20Is starting on July 19th in Sri Lanka.