Sneh Rana magic forces late collapse for South Africa as India-W pocket second win in tri-series
The Indian women continued their dominant run in the tri-series as they edged past South Africa in the second game of the fray. After conquering Sri Lanka in the series opener, a clinical collective display from the Women in Blue was more than enough to derail the Proteas.
Winning the toss, India opted to bat first in Colombo. Another fine charge from Pratika Rawal (78) saw India get off to a flyer. The duo of Rawal and Smriti Mandhana (36) totted up 83 runs for the opening stand before Annie Dercksen got the better of the latter.
Harleen Deol joined forces with Rawal and the duo were crucial in terms of knitting together another crucial partnership. A double whammy from Nonkululeko Mlaba saw India lose Rawal and Deol (29) in quick succession. Despite temporary jitters, India soon found their mojo back as captain Harmanpreet Kaur (41*) and Jemimah Rodrigues (41) pressed the assault button and the South Africans couldn’t really come up with a plan to counter India’s advance.
Masabata Klaas got the better of Jemimah Rodrigues but Richa Ghosh walked out in the center, carved another of those signature storms of hers, rocking 24 off just 14 balls and helped India to tot up 276/6 at the end of 50 overs. Kaur stayed unbeaten while Deepti Sharma (9) and Kashvee Gautam (5*) chimed in with important cameos.
South Africa got off to a windy start as well, keeping in mind the massive total that they were up against. Laura Wolvaardt (43) played the perfect two to tango to Tazmin Brits’ sensational aggression. After adding 140 runs for the opening stand, it was Deepti Sharma who removed Wolvaardt to provide a glimmer of hope for the Women in Blue.
RCB all-rounder Sneh Rana bagged her first of the evening in the form of Lara Goodall (9). Things started taking an unexpected turn as Karabo Meso (7) back to the pavilion shortly with Arundhati Reddy breaching her defences. Sune Luus came up with another shard of resistance smashing 28 off 34 balls but Nallapureddy Charani cut her innings short.
At 240/4 and Tazmin Brits still unbeaten, things looked comfortable enough for South Africa. However, much to their shock, they soon wilted to the combined pressure of a leaping required rate and the express need of boundaries which was being dried up by the Indian bowlers.
Sneh Rana emerged as the architect of India’s sudden resurgence as she got rid of Chloe Tryon (18). South Africa lost their second half of the batting unit in a span of 11 runs. Rana bagged three crucial wickets of the remaining five as she sent Annerie Dercksen (30), Nadine de Klerk (0) and Brits packing. A couple of run-outs under the mounting panic saw South Africa’s resistance come to an end as India registered a fine 15-run win. Sneh Rana won the Player of the Match award for her incredible fifer in a thrilling battle.
