South Africans snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Friday when they took on India in the third ODI of the five-match ODI series at Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
Winning the toss and electing to bowl first, the visitors restricted the hosts to 248-5 in 50 overs. Riding on Punam Raut’s stylish knock of 77, the Women in Blue got off to a steady start. Despite losing Jemimah Rodrigues cheaply in the very first over, Smriti Mandhana (25) and Raut stitched a 64 run partnership. After the fall of Mandhana, skipper Mithali Raj joined hands with the Mumbai bat and breached past the 10,000 international run mark. Raj looked good during her 50-ball 36 run stay. Her deputy Harmanpreet Kaur also contributed with 36 and found an able ally in Deepti Sharma who chipped in with an unbeaten 36. With the ball for the Proteas, Shabnim Ismail was the pick of the bowlers scalping 2-46 in her 10 overs.
In reply, South Africans started off well as the opening pair of Lizelle Lee and Laura Wolvaardt (12) put together 41 runs in 10 overs. Lee was exceptional with the bat as she blasted an unbeaten 132 (131) smashing 16 boundaries and a couple of sixes. Lara Goodall (16), Mignon du Preez (37), and Anne Bosch (16 not out) made some useful contributions to take their side closer to the Indian target. With 26 runs to get off 21 balls, the rain interrupts the game resulting in a six-run win for South Africa. Among the Indian bowlers, Jhulan Goswami was the most effective one picking up 2-20 in her nine overs.
South Africa’s Lizelle Lee was awarded the Player of the Match for her stellar batting performance. With South Africa leading the series 2-1, the next ODI will be played on Sunday.
Brief Scores: India 248-5 in 50 overs (P Raut 77; S Ismail 2-46) lost to South Africa 223-4 in 46.3 overs (L Lee 132; J Goswami 2-20) by 6 runs (D/L method)
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I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
