South Africa and India were both heading into the contest as the table toppers, with India entering as favourites; however, the finals saw an entirely different narrative play out. India won the toss and decided to bat first.
India had a sluggish start losing Smriti Mandhana for an eight-ball duck, and what was uncharacteristic of her knock was how she was unable to get off the mark and with a maiden bowled by Shabnim Ismail, the situation would only get tougher. Jemimah Rodrigues was taking her time to settle in yet kept the scoreboard ticking, and with Harleen Deol was building on a partnership. But as Rodrigues was dismissed by Mlaba, who also got rid of Mandana early on, India was 21/2 in 6 overs with the worst possible start to the match in the powerplay.
However, Harmanpreet Kaur, the skipper, along with Harleen Deol, batted with a lot of caution, matching it with precision as India looked like they had the momentum in the game. But as Kaur was dismissed for an indifferent 21 off 22, Deol batted till the end until Ayabonga Khaka got the better of her for 46 and with a late cameo of 16 by Deepti Sharma, India ended up with 109/4 on the board. Nonkululeko Mlaba was the pick of the bowlers with her two wickets while she was ably supported by Ayabonga Khaka and Sune Luus, who ended up with one wicket each and were instrumental in restricting India.
🚨 FIFTY 🚨
Chloe Tryon smashes a magnificent half century to claim victory against India 👏👏#CricketTwitter #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/zBGeVBMGzi
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 2, 2023
South Africa was entering the run-chase on a fairly confident note as the total seemed very chaseable, but with Laura Wolvaardt getting dismissed for a nine-ball duck by Deepti Sharma, Tazmin Brits, the other opener, too, was undone by Sneh Rana. The very next over saw Lara Goodall getting out for 7 as Rajeshwari Gayakwad got the better of her. Sune Luus hit two boundaries, and when it looked like she would get going, the swing expert Renuka Singh Thakur dismissed her for 12. However, a brilliant and unbeaten 57 off 32 by Chloe Tryon, coupled with a patient run a ball 17 by Nadine de Klerk, paved the way for a famous win for South Africa in 18 overs in the finals of the Tri-Series.
🇿🇦 South Africa won by 5 Wickets
🇮🇳 India: 109-4 (20)
Harleen Deol: 46 (56)
Harmanpreet Kaur: 21 (22)
Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-16🇿🇦 South Africa : 113-5 (18)
Chloe Tryon: 57* (32)
Nadine De Klerk: 17* (17)
Sneh Rana 2-21#CricketTwitter #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/nnU0RtaO9S— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) February 2, 2023
Brief Scores: IND- 109/4 (H Deol 46, H Kaur 21, D Sharma 16*; N Mlaba 2/16, A Khaka 1/17) lost to SA- 113/5 (C Tryon 57*, N Klerk 17*, S Luus 12; S Rana 2/21, R Singh 1/16, D Sharma 1/19)
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.
