Summary of this article
South Africa beat Indian by 9 wickets to seal the series
South Africa are leading the five-match series by 3-0
Harmanpreet Kaur top score for India with 66 off 38 balls
South Africa women continued their dominance in the ongoing T20I series and thrashed India women by 9 wickets in the third match to seal the five-match series with an unassailable lead of 3-0.
South African skipper, Laura Wolvaardt, blasted her third and fastest T20I ton to guide her team home with 9 wickets in hand and 21 balls to spare. She brought her century in just 47 balls and forged a whopping 183-run opening stand with Sune Luus to make short work of a 193-run chase.
Wolvaardt had her share of luck as she was dropped by Smriti Mandhana at the extra cover, when she was at 31. She made full use of the opportunity and brought her half-century in just the fifth over.
Again, Wolvaardt was dropped by her counterpart, Harmanpreet Kaur, at 85, but by that time the fate of the match was mostly decided. She eventually fell after slamming a match-defining 115 off just 53 balls. Opener Sune Luus also played a handy knock of 64 runs off 42 balls to complement her partner.
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Earlier, Harmanpreet Kaur and Shafali scored impressive half-centuries to take India to a strong total on a good batting track. Verma hit her second consecutive half-century (64 off 46 balls) and provided a brisk 68-run opening stand with Smriti Mandhana, followed by a fiery 73-run partnership with Harmanpreet Kaur (66 off 38 balls).
Indian women are grappling with injuries as they missed the services of Amanjot Kaur due to a bac injury, while Arundhati Roy, left the ground mid-match due to what seems like a side strain.
With the Women's T20 World Cup in sight, India will have to fix their middle-order issues and injury issues so the defending ODI champions enter the marquee tournament in style.
India Vs South Africa, 3rd Women's T20I: Playing XIs
India Women: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Kashvee Gautam, Shreyanka Patil, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy
South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Sune Luus, Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Kayla Reyneke, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Ayanda Hlubi, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba
India Vs South Africa, 3rd Women's T20I: Squads
India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Bharti Fulmali, Uma Chetry, Kashvee Gautam, Renuka Singh Thakur
South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Sune Luus, Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Anneke Bosch, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayanda Hlubi, Kayla Reyneke, Tebogo Macheke, Eliz-mari Marx
