The South African top-order fires again before rain plays spoilsport in the 2nd T20I
The South African women’s team led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt clinched their first victory on their tour to India in the 1st T20I as they emerged triumphant by 12 runs to go 1-0 up in the three-match T20I series. Twin half-centuries from Marizanne Kapp and Tazmin Brits played a crucial role in helping the visitors get the series lead in the T20I format. Tazmin Brits was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning, career-best performance (81 off 56 balls) with the bat.
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to field first in the 2nd T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, a potential decider of the series. After being inserted to bat first, South Africa got off to a flying start with a 43-run opening partnership, scoring at over 10 runs an over. Pooja Vastrakar picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Laura Wolvaardt to provide the first breakthrough for India.
Marizanne Kapp joined Tazmin Brits at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 32-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to continue the momentum of the innings. Deepti Sharma picked up the wicket of Marizanne Kapp to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Anneke Bosch joined Tazmin Brits at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 38-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Deepti Sharma came back and picked up the wicket of the opening batter Tasmin Brits to provide the 3rd breakthrough for India.
Chloe Tryon soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 4th breakthrough for India. Nadine de Klerk joined Anneke Bosch at the crease and the duo took their side past the 160-run mark with a 33-run partnership for the 5th wicket. South Africa eventually ended up with a competitive total of 177/6 in their quota of overs. Tazmin Brits (52 off 39 balls), Anneke Bosch (40 off 32 balls), skipper Laura Wolvaardt (22 off 12 balls), and Marizanne Kapp (20 off 14 balls) were the top performers with the bat for South Africa.
Deepti Sharma (4-0-20-3), Pooja Vastrakar (4-0-37-2), and Shreyanka Patil (4-0-37-1) were the top performers with the ball for India. The rains arrived and the persistent nature of the downpour resulted in the game being washed out. The 3rd and final T20I of the series will be played on 9th July 2024 from 7 pm IST.