South African women register a consolation win in the final T20I; India wins series 3-1

South Africa women registered an emphatic 105 run win in the sixth and final T20 played at Lalbhai Contractor Stadium, Surat on Friday.

There were 3 changes in the Indian team as Arundhati Reddy, Mansi Joshi and Anuja Patil were included in the playing XI.

South Africa captain, Sune Luus won the toss and decided to bat first. The decision paid off as Lizelle Lee and the skipper showed their class against the Indian new ball bowlers.  Lee and Luus were simply sensational with their batting. At the end of 6 overs, South African scoreboard read, 57 for 0.

After the power play overs, the South Africa openers continued their attacking approach against the Indian bowlers. Lee reached her fifty off 27 balls with a boundary off Arundhati's bowling. Luus also batted aggressively and reached her fifty off 39 balls. 

Poonam Yadav got the breakthrough for India as she dismissed the dangerous Lizelle Lee. Lee and Luus added 144 runs for the opening wicket which laid a strong foundation. South African batters continued to make batting look easy and posted 175 for the loss of three wickets in 20 overs. Poonam Yadav, Arundhati Reddy and Harmanpreet Kaur took 1 wicket each.

Chasing the massive target of 176 runs to win, it was a horrendous start for Indian Eves as Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues fell to Shabnmil Ismail. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur also departed early. Deepti Sharma and Smriti Mandhana also fell cheaply. Indian Women were tottering at 13 for 5 in 6 overs.

After the power play overs, Tanyia Bhatia fell to a good catch by Sune Luus. Veda Krishnamurthy and Arundhati Roy played with confidence but could not control damage done by the South African new ball bowlers. 

Both added 59 runs for the seventh wicket. Veda Krishnamurthy was dismissed as she missed a full toss and was adjudged LBW. The Indian women’s team were bowled out for 70. 

South Africa women’s team won the match by a massive 105 runs margin. 

It was a complete performance by the South African women’s team in the final T20I match. Though, the Indian team won the series 3-1.

South African women 175 for 3 in 20 overs ( Lizelle Lee 84, Suune Luus 62, Arundhati Reddy 1/28) beat Indian women 70 in 17.3 overs ( Veda Krishnamurthy 26, Arundhati Reddy 22, N de Klerk 3/18, S Ismail 2/11) by 105 runs. 

Cover image credits: News18.com