India Women Clinch ODI Series with Dominant Win Against South Africa.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!On June 23, the India women’s cricket team took on the South Africa women in the third ODI at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. In a thrilling contest, India emerged victorious by six wickets, thus clinching the ODI series.
First Innings: South Africa’s Batting
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits provided a strong start, putting up a 102-run partnership for the first wicket. Wolvaardt impressed with 61 runs off 57 balls, while Brits contributed 38 runs before being run out.
India’s bowlers then made a strong comeback:
- Marizanne Kapp and Anneke Bosch were dismissed within a span of six runs.
- Pooja Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma took crucial wickets, with Sune Luus and Nadine de Klerk falling for 13 and 26 runs, respectively.
- Nondumiso Shangase was run out through an excellent effort by Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh.
Mieke de Ridder remained unbeaten on 26, but South Africa could only manage a total of 215/8 in their 50 overs. Deepti Sharma and Arundhati Reddy were the pick of the bowlers for India, each taking two wickets.
Second Innings: India’s Chase
Chasing a target of 216, India’s Shafali Verma gave a quick start with 25 runs. Priya Punia added 28 runs before getting out. The anchor of India’s innings was Smriti Mandhana, who scored a superb 90 runs off 83 balls.
Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur formed a crucial 48-run partnership for the third wicket. Despite Mandhana’s departure, Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues steadied the innings. Kaur was unfortunately run out, but Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh ensured there were no further hiccups. India comfortably chased the target, scoring 220/4 in 40.4 overs, with 56 balls to spare.
Post-Match Reactions
Arundhati Reddy, reflecting on the game, said, “I’ve never been great at taking caught and bowleds, but I was lucky to have a couple stick today. They had a good opening partnership; we needed a wicket at that point. We just needed to stick to the plans we had made at our meetings. Today’s wicket was a bit slower. You had to adjust and use a lot of slower ones and stick to bowling consistently. This was a small adjustment that I had to make today.”
This victory marks a significant achievement for the India women’s cricket team, showcasing their dominance and strategy execution. The win not only gave India the series but also highlighted the team’s growing confidence and skill in international cricket.
With consistent performances from both the batters and bowlers, India has set a strong precedent for future matches. The team’s cohesive effort and strategic planning were evident throughout the series, making this triumph a memorable one for players and fans alike.