3rd ODI
Smriti Mandhana and bowlers has shined as India complete series whitewash against South Africa Women
South Africa scored 215/8 in 50 overs, where as India scored 220/4 in 40.4 overs.
So, finally India beat South Africa by 6 wickets.
Following her successive centuries with a blistering 90, Smriti Mandhana led India to a 3-0 sweep in the ODI series over South Africa, scripting a comfortable six-wicket win in the third and final match at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
An Arundhati Reddy-inspired bowling comeback helped India limit South Africa to 215/8, despite their strong start.
Mandhana then capitalized on the visitors’ loose bowling under the lights, combining flawless stroke play to secure the victory with 9.2 overs to spare.
Trailing 0-2, South Africa still had two crucial ICC Women’s ODI Championship points to play for on Sunday (June 23).
However, miscommunication and return favors caused the downfall of their top and middle-order, despite the openers frustrating the hosts for a breakthrough for over 20 overs with a century stand.
After a watchful start, skipper Laura Wolvaardt cut loose with a hat-trick of boundaries against Pooja Vastrakar, showcasing her range of strokes.
A pull through backward square leg for a fourth boundary made it an expensive 17-run final over of the powerplay, with South Africa scoring 46 without loss.
Playing second fiddle, Tazmin Brits finally freed her arms, charging Radha Yadav for a six into cow corner.
By the end of the same over, Wolvaardt reached her 32nd ODI fifty, and her sixth against India, in just 45 deliveries.
She raised a century opening stand soon after, but a brilliant return catch at knee height from Arundhati ended the South African captain’s innings.
Brits perished in the following over, run-out on 38 after a terrible communication breakdown with Marizanne Kapp.
Three overs earlier, Brits had survived a run-out scare attempting a tight single.
Arundhati then pulled off an even better, lower blinder in her follow through to send Anneke Bosch back cheaply for her second wicket of the spell.
A returning Shreyanka Patil, replacing leg-spinner Asha Sobhana, switched to a round-the-wicket angle against Kapp and reaped instant rewards, forcing Kapp into an uppish drive and holding on to an excellent return catch.
The visitors had just begun to recover from a dramatic collapse of 4 for 18 when Vastrakar cleaned up Sune Luus after drinks.
South Africa had crawled from reaching their 100 at the start of the 20th over to only 171 by the start of the death-overs phase.
A brewing partnership between Nondumiso Shangase and Nadine de Klerk was disrupted by another communication failure, resulting in de Klerk’s run-out.
Deepti Sharma then bowled de Klerk and Nonkululeko Mlaba in successive deliveries, finishing her miserly spell of 2 for 27.
Two new batters in the middle meant no late fireworks, but an expensive final over from Vastrakar allowed the ninth-wicket pair to take South Africa to a fighting 215, courtesy of their vital 37-run stand.
A mizzle delayed the start of India’s chase, but the home team’s openers wasted little time thereafter.
Shafali Verma, searching for runs in her comeback ODI series, got going with a couple of crisp drives off South Africa’s new-ball pair.
The in-form Mandhana followed suit with a hat-trick of fours off de Klerk’s third over.
Despite a double bowling change, the opening pair continued to fetch boundaries, raising the half-century stand in nine overs.
However, against the run of play, Verma sliced a low catch to backward point in an attempted aerial cut.
Mlaba found some turn and kept the runs in check from one end, with little support at the other.
She conceded a boundary each to Mandhana and Priya Punia but followed up the 10-run over with a maiden.
Mandhana’s sublime timing and driving were the highlights of her top-scoring effort.
She danced down the track to Shangase to bring up her half-century in just 49 deliveries.
Punia, on national comeback, also showed intent from ball one, combining with her vice-captain for a fifty stand.
Unfortunately, her cameo ended similarly to Verma’s, with a low catch to Bosch at backward point.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur played second fiddle to Mandhana, contributing a brisk 19 in their 48-run partnership.
Mandhana inched closer to a rare feat but fell short of a hat-trick of hundreds, top-edging a Mlaba delivery to fall at 90.
India needed only 45 more runs off the remaining 19.2 overs, and Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues ensured there was no drop in intensity.
Even as Harmanpreet fell on 42, trying to squeeze in a quick single, Richa Ghosh sealed the victory with a third-ball six, taking her team over the line.
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