As the spinners shine, India defeated South Africa Women by 11 runs in the first T20I which was held in Surat’s Lalbhai Contractor Stadium on Tuesday.
Key performers :
1) Deepti Sharma – The young spinner was excellent on the day as she continued her form from Super League. She bowled one of the best spells in T20 which included 3/8 in 4 overs with 3 maiden overs. She was well supported by Poonam and Radha.
2) Mignon Du Preez – The pocket dynamo from Africa even she continued her prime form as she scored a brilliant 53 in just 43 balls, sadly her inning went in vain as she was short of support from other batters.
Summary
Winning the toss, Sune Luus put India to bat on a slow track. 15-year-old debutant, Shafali Verma did not have the great of the start to the career as she got out for a duck, all credits to Sekhukhune as she took a blinder at Mid on. The following batter Jemimah Rodrigues looked good as she played a beautiful cover drive to begin the inning which showed that she is in good touch. On the other hand, Smriti Mandhana started to smash and she scored four 4’s before she was dismissed by Shangase on 21, she was out to an excellent catch. Jemimah trying to hit a dolly for a six, she failed as she hit straight to the fielder at long-on.
From 58 for 3, Kaur and Deepti had a nice partnership of 46 which helped India to cross 100, Harman dominated the partnership as she scored a couple of huge sixes. Deepti Sharma on reaching 16 was dismissed sweeping a slower one from de Klerk.
Following her, even Kaur was dismissed in the same over which put breaks on India’s batting. In the end, a cameo from Veda and Taniya helped India to set a target of 131.
India finished their inning on 130 for 8 in 20 overs. Harmanpreet was the highest run-scorer with 43 runs. Ismail and de Klerk were pick of the bowlers with 3 and 2 wickets respectively
Chasing the target, South Africa were off to a flyer with 18 runs in the very first over bowled by Pooja Vastrakar which included 3 fours from Lee and 6 wides. In the next over in the mood for smashing the ball, Lizelle Lee was clean bowled by a ripper from Shikha Pandey which laid to the foundation for the downfall of the South Africa team.
Very next over, Captain Kaur introduced spin in the form of Deepti Sharma, She responded very well with a double maiden wicket as she picked the wickets of Brits and de Klerk who got out for 3 and 0 respectively.
South Africa for struggling at 29 for 3, the inexperience of playing in these conditions was easily seen in SA batters. Deepti Sharma bowled a terrific spell of spin bowling, no batters were able to pick her. Though Wolvaardt and Du Preez tried to build a partnership, the later got dismissed on 14 by a googly from Poonam. Following her, very next ball Skipper Luus chipped a leg spinner straight into the hands of Mandhana at the cover. SA was at 48 for 5 in 9 overs.
On one side Mignon du Preez continued her form from Super League as she scored another half-century, her inning included of 59 runs in 43 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. She tried her best to take her team to victory but the excellent display of spin bowling from Deepti, Poonam and Radha who picked 3, 2 and 2 wickets respectively made SA end their inning at 119. India won the match by 11 runs,
It was really good to see a solid knock from Mignon du Preez, she missed support from another end else the result could have been different. hope SA comes stronger in the next match.
Brief Scores: India 130 for 8 ( Kaur 43, Ismail 3 for 26) defeated SA 119 All-out ( Du Preez 53, Deepti 3 for 8) by 11 runs
