MATCH RECAP
Follow UsIndia strike twice in the powerplay
44/0 and 66/1 - India allowed South Africa to dominate the powerplay in the first two T20Is, but that wasn’t the case in the must-win third encounter on July 9 (Tuesday).
Shreyanka Patil first got rid of South African captain Laura Wolvaardt in the fourth over before Pooja Vastrakar dismissed Marizanne Kapp. In-form Tazmin Brits perished in the eighth over as South Africa were reduced to 45/3.
Vastrakar dismantles SA’s middle-order
The right-arm seamer dismissed Anneke Bosch and Nadine de Klerk in the same over and broke the back of South Africa’s batting unit.
Vastrakar eventually finished with figures of 4/13 - her best in the 20-over format for India.
Radha ensures there’s no late fightback
It was now Radha Yadav’s turn to make an impact and the left-arm spinner made sure there was no fightback from South Africa’s lower order.
The left-arm spinner claimed 3/6 in three overs, as India bundled South Africa out for just 84 in 17.1 overs.
India’s catching on point
India’s fielding has been under the scanner for a while now but they were superb in the third T20I. It was their catching that lost them the first T20I.
However, they took some sharp catches in the last game of the series. Harmanpreet Kaur took a good diving catch at mid-off to get rid of Brits, while Arundhati Reddy and S Sajana were also sharp with their catching.
Mandhana, Shafali take care of the rest
The bowlers started it; Smriti Mandhana (40-ball 54*) and Shafali Verma (25-ball 27*) finished it.
The Indian openers chased down the target in just 10.5 overs and levelled the series 1-1, with the second game getting washed out. This is the third time India won a T20I by 10 wickets.
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