SOUTH AFRICA WOMEN TOUR OF INDIA, 2019
Harmanpreet went past 2000 T 20 I runs – the second Indian woman to do so. © Getty
A disciplined bowling effort from India led by spinners Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav set things up for the hosts to deny South Africa of a comeback in the extra T 20 I that was added to the initial five-match series due to the successive washed out games. As a result of the five-wicket win in Surat, India clinched the now six-match series 3-0 with one to play.
Chasing a mediocre target of 99 on a sluggish surface, India were anchored by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur who stayed unbeaten to see a tricky chase through till the end. Her 50 – run stand with Deepti Sharma more or less sealed the deal in favor of the home side. She even went on to get past 2000 T 20 I runs – the second Indian woman to do so behind only Mithali Raj, and eighth overall.
Earlier in the evening, Harmanpreet’s bowlers responded brilliantly to their captain’s decision to bowl by hitting their straps from the outset. The new-ball pair of Deepti Sharma and Shikha Pandey kept things tight to set the tone before Radha entered the fray in the middle overs.
None of the South Africa batters were able to cross 20 and they eventually crawled to a disappointing total. Their bowlers did make things interesting but a calm Harmanpreet got stuck in, as India took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with a game to spare.
Brief scores:South Africa Women 98 / 8in 20 oversha (Radha 3 – 23, Deepti 2 – 19) lost to India Women 99 / 5in 1 overs (Harmanpreet 34 *, Shabnim 2 – 19) by five wickets
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