We spoke about the things we need to improve: Harmanpreet Kaur

India Women were under pressure coming into the third and final T20I against South Africa in Chennai on July 9 (Tuesday) but managed to put up a complete performance to level the series 1-1. Having lost the first game by 12 runs and the second T20I being washed out, the Women in Blue had to step up in the must-win encounter and that’s exactly what they did. 

The bowling unit bowled with great control, with Pooja Vastrakar (4/13) and Radha Yadav (3/6) taking seven wickets between them. South Africa were bundled out for just 84 in 17.1 overs and Indian openers Smriti Mandhana (54*) and Shafali Verma (27*) hunted down the target in only 10.5 overs, giving India only their third 10-wicket win in the 20-over format.

“We spoke about the things we need to improve and I'm proud of the way we played today. Going forward, we might have situations similar to this where we have to go hard and express ourselves. We were positive today and played as a team. Whoever got the opportunity, they did really well. Self belief was there and now with Asia Cup around the corner, we want to go there and do really well,” said Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

Vastrakar dismissed Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk and Eliz-mari Marx to register her best T20I figures. The right-arm seamer said her plan was to attack the stumps and make full use of the slow Chennai surface. “Whatever we practiced in the nets, we tried to execute that,” said Vastrakar, who was named Player of the Match and Series.

“I wanted to bowl wicket-to-wicket, and I tried to keep things simple. Getting the new ball was a great opportunity and I enjoyed the responsibility. The plan was to stick to our strengths, and it worked out well as far as the bowlers are concerned.”

Meanwhile, South African captain Laura Wolvaardt said they could have taken a bit more time at the start rather than trying to be ultra-aggressive. “Not the way we want to end the series, disappointing loss. Overall, a lot of learnings. The first two games, we had a lot of positives. We should have taken a little bit more time upfront today.” 

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