Harmanpreet Kaur-led team India registered 10 wickets dominating win against South Africa Women to level the 3-match T20I series at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. It was Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav's dominating show with the ball followed by the match-winning stand of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Varma which helped Inda to win the third match.
After being asked to bat, South Africa bundled out on just 84 runs in 17.1 overs. Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav were the picks of the bowlers and they got four and three scalps respectively in the final T20I. Shafali Varma (27) and Smriti Mandhana (54) then overhauled the target, scoring 88 for no loss in 10.5 overs to level the series 1-1.
India easily chased down the small target of 85 with 55 balls to spare and without losing any wicket with opening batters Mandhana and Shafali Verma remaining not out on 54 and 27 respectively.
Mandhana hit the winning runs -- a six off Nadine de Klerk -- as India reached 88 for no loss in 10.5 overs. This was India's biggest victory over South Africa in this format, both in terms of wickets (10) and balls to spare (55).
The Indian opening duo played smart cricket, managing 40 for no loss at the end of the powerplay, with the visitors using five different bowlers in this phase but without any success Mandhana and Verma later went for the big shots to end the contest quickly.
In all, Mandhana struck eight fours and two sixes from the 40 balls she faced while Verma scored three fours from 25 balls. South Africa had won the first match by 12 runs before the second T20I was washed out on Saturday.
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Earlier, only three South African batters managed to score in double-digit figures, with Tazmin Brits (20 off 23 balls) being their top scorer.
Openers Laura Wolvaardt (9 off 9 balls) and Brits could only manage 19 runs for the first wicket. As Shreyanka Patil dismissed Wolvaardt in the fourth over, the pair of Brits and Marizanne Kapp (10 off 8 balls) added 11 runs for the second wicket.
Interestingly, the Indians used four different bowlers in the opening four overs. Kapp fell in the fifth over, as she became Vastrakar's 50th wicket in the format. Next to go for South Africa was Brits with Deepti Sharma grabbing her prized wicket in the eighth over, as the scoreboard read 45 for three.
The same over saw Chloe Tryon being dropped by Deepti, as the slew of poor fielding from the hosts continued in the third straight contest. Yet, the visitors struggled to get a proper partnership going, having dominated with the bat in the previous two outings.
They lost their next two wickets at the score of 61 in the 11th over, thanks to Vastrakar exploiting the wicket. Halfway through the innings, it was evident that the track did not have much for the batters, with spongy bounce and mild turn.
Also, the rain in the city in the past couple of days had made the wicket moist, leading to Vastrakar getting mild swings through her medium pace, which indeed troubled the South Africans. Things simply went worse for South Africa thereon as they lost the remaining five wickets for just 23 runs.
India vs South Africa 2nd T20I
Earlier, the second T20I between India and South Africa was washed out due to heavy rain and a wet outfield at the same venue after South Africa scored 177 runs in the first innings. It was Tazmin Brits half-century that helped Proteas to post a mammoth total against team India.
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