Hosts South Africa, led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt, clinched the five-match T20I series against India with a statement 9-wicket win in the 3rd T20I at Wanderers, Johannesburg, on 22nd April 2026. The Proteas, eyeing further extension of their dominance in the series, were up against a wounded Indian lineup at the same venue in the 4th T20I on 25th April 2026 (Saturday).
Both sides made wholesale changes to their lineup for the 4th T20I. Eliz Mari Marx and Ayabonga Khaka replaced Nadine de Klerk and Ayanda Hlubi in the starting XI. While the visitors made a few surprising calls with the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Shreyanka Patil, and Arundhati Reddy making way for Anushka Sharma, Kranti Gaud and Shree Charani into the side.
The Proteas skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, yet again won her 4th straight toss in the series and decided to insert India to bat first, at the Bull Ring of the Wanderers. The absence of Smriti Mandhana meant Shafali Verma had a new opening partner in the form of Anushka Sharma. The pair hit the right note immediately as they formed a crucial 25-run opening partnership.
Eliz Mari Marx broke the stand by sending the in-form Shafali Verma (9 off 9 balls) back to the pavilion in the 3rd over of the innings, to provide the first breakthrough for South Africa. Jemimah Rodrigues joined Anushka Sharma at the crease, and she assessed the conditions on offer en route to their 22-run stand for the 2nd wicket. Tumi Sekhukhune dismissed a promising Anushka Sharma (27 off 18 balls) to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side on the final ball of the powerplay.
Jemimah switched gears as soon as she was joined by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and the duo stitched a crucial 55-run stand for the 3rd wicket, which also took them past the 100-run mark. Kayla Reyneke cleaned up Jemimah Rodrigues (43 off 29 balls) in the 12th over of the innings, providing the 3rd breakthrough as she was looking even more threatening as she grew in confidence in her innings.
India lost Bharti Fulmali and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (22 off 16 balls) in quick succession, reducing the visitors to 120/5 in the 14th over of the innings. Wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh (34* off 18 balls) and Deepti Sharma (36* off 26 balls), both struggling for form, provided the finishing fireworks to the innings as India made a strong fightback, posting 185/5 in their quota of 20 overs courtesy of their unbeaten 65-run partnership for the 6th wicket.
Eliz-Mari Marx (4-0-28-2), Kayla Reyneke (2-0-10-2), and Ayabonga Khaka (4-0-27-0) were impressive with the ball for South Africa.
The in-form opening duo of Sune Luus and skipper Laura Wolvaardt got them off to a flying start with a 32-run opening stand. Kranti Gaud got the big scalp of the opposition skipper, Laura Wolvaardt (18 off 14 balls), providing the much-needed first breakthrough for India in the 4th over of the run chase.
Tazmin Brits joined Sune Luus at the crease, and the pair stitched another crucial 44-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. Deepti Sharma finally registered her first scalp of the series by dismissing the in-form Sune Luus (40 off 24 balls) in the 9th over of the run-chase to provide a crucial breakthrough for her side, giving her the much-needed confidence.
She eventually ran through, spinning a web around the South African batting unit, registering her career-best maiden five-wicket haul (4-0-19-5) in her spell with the ball for her side. The other Indian bowlers, Shree Charani (4-0-28-1), Kranti Gaud (4-0-33-1), Kashvee Gautam (3-0-26-1), and Shafali Verma (2-0-26-1) picked up a wicket each, not allowing any momentum whatsoever in the run chase after the departure of Tazmin Brits (30 off 23 balls) in the 14th over of the run chase.
As a result, South Africa were eventually restricted to 171/9 in their quota of 20 overs, falling 14 runs short of the target. Kayla Reyneke (21 off 19 balls) and Eliz-Mari Marx (21* off 13 balls) chipped in with handy cameos with the bat for the home side towards the backend. Deepti Sharma was awarded the Player of the Match for her all-round heroics, scoring 36* (26 balls) with the bat and returning with match figures of 4-0-19-5 with the ball in her spell, playing a pivotal role as India registered their first win of the tour.
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