Smriti Mandhana’s century and debutant Asha Sobhana’s four-fer powers India to a thumping 143-run victory as the home side went 1-0 up in the ODI series.
The Indian Women’s team led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur is hosting South Africa led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt for an all-format series that includes a three-match One Day series at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, followed by a one-off Test match, and then a three-match T20I series at the MA. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, in Chennai. The series will get underway on 16th June 2024 and will conclude on 9th July 2024.
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first in the 1st ODI against South Africa. India got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of Shafali Verma in the 4th over of the innings. Masabata Klaas provided the first breakthrough for South Africa. Dayalan Hemalatha joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo failed to stitch a substantial partnership as they lost the wicket of Dayalan Hemalatha in the 9th over of the innings. Nonkululeko Mlaba provided the 2nd breakthrough for her side.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo stitched a 23-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before the debutant Annerie Dercksen picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to provide the 3rd breakthrough for South Africa. Jemimah Rodrigues joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 37-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Nondumiso Shangase picked up the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side.
Wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 5th breakthrough for South Africa. Deepti Sharma joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease with India struggling at 99/5 in the 22nd over of the innings. The duo stitched a much-needed 81-run partnership for the 6th wicket before Ayabonga Khakha cleaned up Deepti Sharma to provide the much-needed breakthrough for South Africa.
Pooja Vastrakar joined opening batter Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 58-run partnership for the 7th wicket. Masabata Klaas came back and picked up the wicket of a well-set batter Smriti Mandhana to provide a crucial breakthrough for her side. Smriti Mandhana notched up her 6th ODI century before getting dismissed. India eventually ended up with a competitive total of 265/8 in their quota of overs. Smriti Mandhana (117 off 127 balls), Deepti Sharma (37 off 48 balls), and Pooja Vastrakar (31 off 42 balls) were the top performers with the bat for India.
Ayabonga Khakha (10-0-47-3), Masabta Klaas (10-0-51-2), Nondumiso Shangase (10-0-54-1), and Annerie Dercksen (10-0-60-1) were the top performers with the ball for South Africa. Chasing a target of 266, the visitors South Africa got off to a poor start as they lost their top order cheaply. Marizanne Kapp joined Sune Luus at the crease with South Africa in a spot of bother at 33/3 in the 11th over of the run chase.
The duo stitched a crucial 39-run partnership for the 4th wicket before Asha Sobhana picked up the wicket of Marizanne Kapp to provide the 4th breakthrough for India. The debutant Annerie Dercksen soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 5th breakthrough for India. Nondumiso Shangase joined Sune Luus at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 18-run partnership for the 6th wicket. Deepti Sharma picked up the wicket of Sune Luus to provide the much-needed 6th breakthrough for India.
South Africa were eventually bundled out for 122, as the visitors lost their last four wickets for just 30 runs. South Africa fell short of the target by 143 runs and 74 balls to spare. Sune Luus (33 off 58 balls), wicket-keeper batter Sinalo Jafta (27 off 30 balls), and Marizanne Kapp (24 off 39 balls) were the top performers with the bat for South Africa. Asha Sobhana (8.4-2-21-4), Deepti Sharma (6-0-10-2), Radha Yadav (10-0-32-1), and Renuka Singh (7-0-30-1) were the top performers with the ball for India.
Smriti Mandhana was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant match-winning performance (117 off 127 balls) with the bat. She played a crucial role in helping India go 1-0 up in the three-match ODI series. The 2nd ODI of the series will be played on 19th June 2024 (Wednesday) from 1:30 PM IST.