The final game of the five-match T20I series against South Africa, led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt, was another opportunity for India to fine-tune their combinations and sign off the South African tour on a high.
The Proteas skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, made it five on the bounce in terms of winning the toss in the ongoing T20I series, and for a change, she opted to bat first for the first time in the series. India made just the one change, with Arundhati Reddy replacing Kashvee Gautam in the starting 11, which meant the Indian vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana, was rested yet again. For the home side, there were a couple of changes with Nadine de Klerk and Anneke Bosch returning to the side, replacing Kayla Reyneke and Tumi Sekhukhune for the final game of the series at Willowmoore Park, Benoni.
The South African openers Sune Luus and skipper Laura Wolvaardt continued the rich vein of form as they stitched a massive 75-run opening partnership. The left-arm spinner Shree Charani broke the stand by sending Sune Luus (23 off 23 balls) back to the pavilion in the 9th over of the innings, providing the much-needed 1st breakthrough for India.
The Indian spinners pounced on the opening and triggered a collapse as South Africa lost their next 5 wickets for just 49 runs. As a result, they were reduced to 124/6 in the 18th over of the innings. However, a solid cameo from the wicket-keeper batter Sinalo Jafta (16* off 8 balls), alongside skipper Laura Wolvaardt, en route to their 31-run stand for the 7th wicket, provided them the finishing touches as pushing the total past the 150-run mark, as South Africa posted 155/6 in their quota of 20 overs.
Skipper Laura Wolvaardt stayed unbeaten on 92* (56 balls), registering her 3rd half-century of the series. Chloe Tryon (12 off 10 balls) was the only other batter to enter the double digits with the bat for South Africa. Indian bowlers were very disciplined with their line and length as they just gave away 1 run in the extras column. Renuka Singh (4-1-21-2), N Sree Charani (4-0-22-2), and Deepti Sharma (4-0-37-2) picked up a couple of wickets each for India.
Chasing a total of 156, in a tricky run chase, India lost a couple of wickets, in the form of Shafali Verma (4 off 5 balls) and Jemimah Rodrigues (1 off 4 balls), inside the powerplay. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined opening batter Anushka Sharma at the crease, and the duo tried to rebuild the run chase with a 17-run stand for the 3rd wicket, but the departure of Anushka Sharma (17 off 21 balls) in the 8th over of the run chase applied the brakes on the innings.
Bharti Fulmali joined skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease, and the duo took them past the 50-run mark with a crucial 38-run stand for the 4th wicket. It was followed by another brisk 23-run stand for the 5th wicket between Deepti Sharma (8 off 10 balls) and Bharti Fulmali. The departure of Bharti Fulmali (40 off 30 balls) in the 16th over of the innings, reducing the visitors to 99/5, pushed India firmly on the back foot in the run chase.
The wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (25* off 15 balls) not getting adequate strike towards the backend of the run chase resulted in India being restricted to 132/8 in their quota of overs, falling 23 runs short of the target. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (22 off 28 balls) was the only other Indian batter to enter the double digits with the bat.
Nonkululeko Mlaba (4-1-15-2) was the standout performer with the ball for South Africa. Nadine de Klerk (3-0-26-2), Eliz-Mari Marx (3-0-12-1), Chloe Tryon (4-0-28-1), and Ayabonga Khaka (4-0-29-1) were impressive in their spells with the ball for South Africa. The South African skipper, Laura Wolvaart (92* off 56 balls), was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-defining knock. Her knock included 11 boundaries and a couple of maximums.
She also clinched the Player of the Series award for scoring a record 330 runs at a strike rate of 168.36 and an average of 82.50 in five innings, including three half-centuries and a century in five matches with the bat for her side. She surpassed the West Indian skipper Hayley Matthews (310 runs in three innings) for the most runs by a batter in a Women’s T20I bilateral series, playing a massive role as South Africa sealed the T20I series by a 4-1 margin.
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