Pooja Vastrakar’s lethal bowling in the T20I series against South African has given India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana the confidence that the pacer can replicate the form in the Women’s T20 World Cup in October in Bangladesh. The 24-year-old quick took eight wickets here with a best of 4/13 in the final game on Tuesday, which helped the hosts thrash the Proteas by 10 wickets to level the three-match series 1-1. The second match was washed out but South Africa played the full 20 overs and Vastrakar grabbed two wickets.

Smriti was in awe of Vastrakar’s bowling, which helped India restrict South Africa Women to 84 on Tuesday.

“In the first two matches, the wickets were flat, and for her to come with such figures is amazing. We hope she keeps doing the same things and will be crucial for us in the World Cup,” Mandhana told reporters on Tuesday.

“She is brilliant with the ball. It’s been a long series for all of us, and being a bowler, I wonder how has she done that (carried on without getting tired)?” Besides the T20Is, India also played a one-off Test and three ODIs against South Africa.

Mandhana also recalled Vastrakar’s performance in the five-match T20I series in Bangladesh in April-May, where she took five wickets — the joint second-highest number of scalps.

“Even during the Bangladesh T20I series, the way she bowled, especially during the death overs, I struggled to see the ball when she was running in so quickly,” added Mandhana.

“We knew she had made a difference about how she has been bowling in the last few months. Coming into the series, we were confident of her.” Mandhana credited the pre-series camp at the National Cricket Academy for the success against South Africa.

“A lot of effort was put in during the batters’ camp that we had at the NCA before the series. The number of hours in the camp with the bat helps you.

“Throughout the series, all the players were ready to play and bat across formats, having practiced those scenarios in the camp. I believe in working hard when no one’s watching, and that helped me and the team perform well in this series.” The series has also been special for Shafali Varma, who finished among the top three run-getters for her side.

“Shafali bats the best when she doesn’t think a lot. You don’t give a batter like her a lot of information. The only conversation (I have) from the non-striker’s end is when she wants to hurry up, and all I say is ‘stay’. As a senior player, my job is to guide her about the bowler, and she adapts.

“Initially, in her career, she was aggressive, but now, she knows which bowler to target. I’m sure, doing this a lot more will help.” Mandhana was not in favour of too much shuffling in the batting order in the T20 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka later this month.

“We will have a similar set of conditions during the Asia Cup. But, I think it’s a good problem to have since, for a few years, we have wanted to have a few players who can go out and win the matches for us.

“Also, the confidence that the WPL has given has got them in that space. But it’s a calculated big call that we have thought about. It’s a lot to do with what we feel that can win us a lot of matches rather than just one or two. I won’t say that there would be a lot of shuffling.”

Not the way we wanted to end series: Laura Wolvaardt

South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt felt that her batters failed to judge the pitch and adapt to the conditions.

“Not the way we wanted to end the series. The pitch felt ‘stoppy’ when we were batting. Also, I don’t think we adapted to the conditions as well as we could have.

“But, it’s a tough one since we have been speaking about being a lot more positive as a batting unit, which came off in the first two (T20I) games. It was a tough toss to lose (in the third T20I), but we could have put up 140-150.” “We will take a lot of learnings from the series. We are happy with how we batted in the first two games; we made a lot of big strides. So, I don’t want this (last) game to send us backwards,” she added.

Pacer Pooja Vastrakar ran riot with a career-best bowling show of 4/13 before Smriti Mandhana shone with the bat with an unbeaten half century, as India thrashed South Africa by 10 wickets in the third and final women’s T20 International to level the series 1-1 in Chennai on Tuesday. Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav also chipped in with a fine performance of 3/6 from her three over to help India shoot South Africa out for a mere 84 in 17.1 overs after opting to bowl. India easily chased down the small target of 85 with 55 balls to spare and without losing any wicket with opening batters Mandhana and Shafali Verma remaining not out on 54 and 27 respectively.

Mandhana hit the winning runs — a six off Nadine de Klerk — as India reached 88 for no loss in 10.5 overs. This was India’s biggest victory over South Africa in this format, both in terms of wickets (10) and balls to spare (55).

Mandhana, who was at her magnificent best towards the end of the run chase, hit a six in the 10th over and followed it up with two fours and a maximum in the next to end the contest quickly. This was her 24th T20I half century.

The Indian opening duo played smart cricket, managing 40 for no loss at the end of the powerplay, with the visitors using five different bowlers in this phase but without any success Mandhana and Verma later went for the big shots to end the contest quickly.

In all, Mandhana struck eight fours and two sixes from the 40 balls she faced while Verma scored three fours from 25 balls.

South Africa had won the first match by 12 runs before the second T20I was washed out on Saturday.

Earlier, only three South African batters managed to score in double-digit figures, with Tazmin Brits (20 off 23 balls) being their top scorer.

Openers Laura Wolvaardt (9 off 9 balls) and Brits could only manage 19 runs for the first wicket.

As Shreyanka Patil dismissed Wolvaardt in the fourth over, the pair of Brits and Marizanne Kapp (10 off 8 balls) added 11 runs for the second wicket.

Interestingly, the Indians used four different bowlers in the opening four overs.

Kapp fell in the fifth over, as she became Vastrakar’s 50th wicket in the format. Next to go for South Africa was Brits with Deepti Sharma grabbing her prized wicket in the eighth over, as the scoreboard read 45 for three.

The same over saw Chloe Tryon being dropped by Deepti, as the slew of poor fielding from the hosts continued in the third straight contest.

Yet, the visitors struggled to get a proper partnership going, having dominated with the bat in the previous two outings.

They lost their next two wickets at the score of 61 in the 11th over, thanks to Vastrakar exploiting the wicket.

Halfway through the innings, it was evident that the track did not have much for the batters, with spongy bounce and mild turn.

Also, the rain in the city in the past couple of days had made the wicket moist, leading to Vastrakar getting mild swings through her medium pace, which indeed troubled the South Africans.

Things simply went worse for South Africa thereon as they lost the remaining five wickets for just 23 runs.

Desperate to level the three-match series after the second game was washed out, India would hope weather doesn’t play spoilsport, besides eyeing a much-improved bowling effort in the final women’s T20I against South Africa here on Tuesday. India are trailing the three-match series 0-1 after losing the opener by 12 runs. Their problems compounded after the second game here on Sunday was washed out midway due to persistent drizzle. And with 30 to 40 per cent of rain forecast for Tuesday, the Indians are left on the mercy of weather gods.

In both the matches, the Indian bowlers cut a sorry figure as South Africa amassed 189 for 9 and 177 for 6 respectively.

Barring Pooja Vastrakar, who picked up two wickets each in both the games, and spinner Deepti Sharma, most of the Indian bowlers failed to shine against the Proteas women.

Renuka Singh leaked runs in the first game and was subsequently replaced by Sajeevan Sajana in the second T20I but the latter also didn’t her cause.

Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav picked up a wicket each on Sunday but continued to leak runs.

India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur would want her bowlers to pull up their socks with the series at stake.

On the batting front, it has been a decent show by the Indians in the first game. The likes of Jemimah Rodrigues (53 not out), Smriti Mandhana (46), Harmanpreet (35), Shafali Verma (18) and Daylan Hemalatha (14) all making double digit scores.

Uma Chetry, who made her T20I debut on Sunday, is likely to persisted with as Harmanpreet and the team management would like to see her exploits with the bat.

South Africa, on the other hand, has been rock solid with the bat with Tazmin Brits, who hit consecutive half-centuries, leading the charge.

Besides Brits, skipper Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp and Anneke Bosch have contributed with the bat as well for the visitors.

South Africa’s only concern is Chloe Tryon, who has scored identical 12 runs in the two games.

And with the upcoming T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in mind, Tryon will be desperate to prove her detractors wrong.

Teams:

India Women: Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Smriti Mandhana(vc), Uma Chetry(wk), Richa Ghosh(wk), Dayalan Hemalatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Sajeevan Sajana, Deepti Sharma, Asha Sobhana, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Shabnam Shakil, Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav.

South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt(c), Tazmin Brits, Mieke de Ridder(wk), Sinalo Jafta(wk), Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba and Tumi Sekhukhune.

Match starts: 7.00 pm (IST). 

Persistent rain forced the abandonment of the second women’s T20 International between India and South Africa after the visitors made 177 for six in their innings in Chennai on Sunday. It helped South Africa maintain their 1-0 lead in the three-match series, and now, India will have to win the third and final T20I on Tuesday (July 9) to avoid a rare home series defeat. The start of the match was delayed by 15 minutes because of rain and it was a constant spoilsport on three occasions during South Africa’s innings without stopping the proceedings.

But the heavens opened up during the innings break, sufficient to force the teams to stay put in their respective dressing rooms.

The overs began to lose by 9.16 pm, and the nagging drizzle meant that even the cut-off time — 10.13 pm — for a five-over-a-side contest could not be met, eventually forcing the umpires to take the tough call.

Earlier, Tazmin Brits made a measured fifty as the Proteas overcame some mid-innings jitters to post a challenging 177 for six after being asked to bat first.

Brits (52 off 39 balls) received solid support from Anneke Bosch (40 off 32 balls) as the Proteas racked up their second-highest T20I total against India.

Openers Laura Wolvaardt (22 off 12 balls) and Brits were involved in a 42-run opening stand before pacer Pooja Vastrakar got rid of the former in the fifth over.

In the company of Marizanne Kapp (20 off 14 balls), Brits continued her brisk scoring ways as they put up 66 runs during the powerplay.

While Brits brought up her 11th T20I half-century, she failed to push her stand with Bosch going beyond 38, falling to Deepti in the 14th over, with the score reading 113 for three.

The Indian bowlers, especially the spinners, were barely giving the South Africans any room to bat freely, forcing them to use the sweep shots quite often.

Vastrakar bowled the final over and got rid of Nadine de Klerk (14 off 9 balls), but Jemimah Rodrigues dropped the chance to dismiss Annerie Dercksen (12 not out) for which she made the Indians pay, striking three fours in a row off the last three balls of SA innings.

Vastrakar and Deepti claimed two wickets each for the hosts.

A 12-run defeat in the first game putting them on the backfoot, India Women would to look to dish out an improved batting and fielding performance in the second T20 International and bounce back in the the three-match series against South Africa here on Sunday. Dropped catches and batters’ lack of intent in the middle overs had cost India dear in the opening match on Friday, as they could only score 177 for 4 in 20 overs after South Africa had posted 189 for 4, thanks to Tazmin Brits (81) and Marizanne Kapp (57).

It was South Africa’s first win in the ongoing tour. They had earlier suffered a 0-3 whitewash in the ODI series followed by a 10-wicket loss in the one-off Test in the tour spanning close to a month now.

Both the camps have concerns to deal with following Friday’s match. India’s Richa Ghosh and South Africa’s Brits had gone off the field with concussion and cramps respectively.

As per the BCCI’s statement, Richa had “neck pain and dizziness” following a failed catch attempt, with the ball hitting her face. Her face too seemingly hit the ground.

“She has been sent for further scans & the BCCI Medical Team is monitoring her progress,” read the BCCI’s statement.

As for Brits, she had to be stretchered out of the field with a severe contusion on her right lower leg. However, she did come for the post-match press conference and affirmed that she would be good to go in the upcoming games.

For the hosts, while their bowling performance was decent, the poor fielding caught everyone off-guard, with three dropped catches and a few mis-fields.

The fielding flop show will definitely be one aspect that will be playing at the back of the home players’ minds on Sunday, especially given that head coach Amol Muzumdar is extremely strict about it.

As for batting, the Indian top order needs to add a bit more flair, barring Smriti Mandhana, who has been in fine touch lately.

However, the Indian middle order has been efficient, thanks to captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues, who made 35 and 53 not out respectively on Friday.

The South Africans clicked with the bat, especially the top order. The likes of Brits and Kapp, along with skipper Laura Wolvaardt and Chloe Tryon, are expected to come in handy yet again on Sunday.

Also, it was an all-round bowling performance, with four different wicket-takers.

However, Eliz-Mari Marx might be under the scanner, having given away 36 runs in her three overs in the first match.

The Chepauk pitch on Friday was above par and is expected to be more or less the same on Sunday.

Although there was low bounce and mild dew on Friday, playing the sweep shots effectively will be a good choice, given how the Proteas executed them perfectly.

The Teams (from): India Women: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Uma Chetry (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Dayalan Hemalatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Sajeevan Sajana, Deepti Sharma, Asha Sobhana, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Shabnam Shakil, Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav.

South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Mieke de Ridder (wk), Sinalo Jafta (wk), Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba and Tumi Sekhukhune.

Match starts: 7.00 pm IST. PTI AYG PDS PDS

Commanding fifties by Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp was well complemented by a fine effort by the bowlers as South Africa registered their first win in the ongoing tour with a 12-run victory over India in the opening women’s T20I in Chennai on Friday. Sent in to bat, South Africa’s terrific effort with the bat, heavily assisted by India’s poor fielding, ensured that it posted a solid total of 189 for four, with Brits (81 off 56 balls) and Kapp (57 off 33 balls) anchoring the innings.

In reply, the Indian openers began on a strong note with opening pair of Shafali Verma (18 off 14 balls) and Smriti Mandhana (46 off 30 balls) putting on a 32-ball 56-run stand before the former perished in the sixth over to Ayabonga Khaka.

Dayalan Hemalatha (14 off 17 balls) then joined Mandhana in the middle and the duo constructed a 31-run partnership.

But the tourists did manage to keep the pressure on, picking up a A wicket either side of drinks.

First Mandhana departed off Chloe Tryon in the 10th over, quickly followed by Hemalatha, who was cleaned up by Nadine de Klerk in the following over, as the score read 87 for three.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues then joined hands and took the attacking route with the required run-rate rising.

The two brought up their 50-run stand in 38 deliveries, bringing down the equation to 47 off 18 balls.

Jemimah continued her onslaught and brought up her 11th T20I half-century in 29 deliveries as 21 was needed off the last six balls.

But it was not to be as Nonkululeko Mlaba held her nerve to concede only eight runs in the final over.

While South Africa had four different wicket-takers, de Klerk’s economy played a vital role in the triumph.

There were some injury concerns as well as Richa Ghosh was replaced by S Sajana as the concussion substitute after the former fell face first on the ground, attempting to take a catch. Also, Brits was stretchered out of the ground with severe cramps.

Earlier, Brits and Kapp helped South Africa post their highest total in T20Is against India.

Brits, whose innings came off 56 balls with 10 fours and three sixes, and skipper Laura Wolvaardt (33) were off to a watchful start, managing 50 in 43 balls.

But, the Indians failed to latch on to a few chances with Wolvaardt and Kapp being dropped in the 4th and 10th over, while Brits too was later dropped in the 16th over.

The lack of bounce on the pitch allowed Kapp and Brits to implement the sweep shots efficiently.

Pooja and Radha grabbed two wickets each for India, whereas the former was also decently economical.

India batter Jemimah Rodrigues said on Thursday that the team was focussing on improving its fielding, dubbing the department as a “game-changer”, ahead of the three-match Women’s T20I series against South Africa. “We have clarity in our plans across the three departments. The work is ongoing in fielding to keep getting better because it is one department that is a game-changer,” she said during the pre-match press conference ahead of the opening T20I against the Proteas in Chennai on Friday.

The 23-year-old’s fielding effort during the one-off Test against South Africa here was lauded when she took a diving catch in the second innings to get rid of Delmi Tucker.

She praised head coach Amol Muzumdar’s no-nonsense approach towards fitness and fielding.

“Since Amol sir has come, we have been hearing the same thing in every team meeting — fitness and fielding are non-negotiable. And, it is something we have specifically been working on,” she said.

“During the camp (at NCA), there were fitness sessions at 7am and then there were fielding sessions in the evening.

“In fielding, the Indian women’s cricket team is setting high standards. We will continue to do everything to maintain it. We will work hard and the results will come.” The three-match T20I series will be India’s final preparation before the Asia Cup (T20) and the T20 World Cup.

Jemimah also said the experience gained during the Women’s Premier League will come in handy during the World Cup.

“The best part about our team is that it has been a consistent team for a very long time, having played a lot of matches together. Also, having the WPL experience is a plus,” she added.

“The first WPL (in 2023) had quite a few inexperienced girls, but coming into this year’s WPL, playing on the low and turning pitches of Delhi, similar to Bangladesh, the girls will be taking in a lot of confidence heading into the World Cup.” The Women’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be hosted in Bangladesh from October 3 to 20 October.

The wicket of Chepauk will be interesting to look out for, given how a belter was presented for the Test that saw both teams scoring over 600 runs.

Jemimah said India will have a clear plan for the T20I series here where they thrashed South Africa by 10 wickets to win the one-off Test recently after scoring 600-plus runs in the first innings “Who said Chennai is not high scoring? We got to score 500 runs in the opening day of the Test, which speaks a lot about the wicket here. We will assess the conditions and then go about it. Looking at the pitch today, it felt like a perfect wicket to bat on. However, we will never know till the ball is bowled.

Will look to play our most likely side for World Cup: Wolvaardt

South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt said that she would look to field her best playing XI during the T20 series against India, given that it was her team’s last opportunity before the World Cup to streamline things.

“Obviously, we will be looking to play the strongest XI we can. The team has plans leading up to the World Cup, be it bowling or batting options and nail down different combinations,” she said.

“We have tried some things and given youngsters opportunities in the last few T20I series. But for this tour, we will be looking to play our best side and the most likely side to be playing in the World Cup.

South Africa used plenty of spin options during the one-off Test against India and the skipper said the experiment with spin would continue in the series against India.

“It’s a good time to see if we could perhaps use more spin in the powerplay and the death. Although we generally bowl spin in the middle overs, it could be a good time to experiment with a couple of things.

“India will play a lot of spinners and will probably bowl spin throughout the innings. But, it all depends on the conditions that unfold, and how spin-friendly it’s out there,” she added.

India were made to wait a tad longer for the winning moment by centurion Laura Wolvaardt, but they eventually went past the line convincingly by 10 wickets on the fourth and final day of the one-off Test women’s Test against South Africa in Chennai on Monday. India were required to chase a modest 37 after bowling out South Africa for 373 in their second innings and the hosts accomplished the task in 9.2 overs without losing a wicket. India had declared their first innings closed at 603 for six. The opening duo of Shubha Satheesh (13 not out) and Shafali Verma (24 not out) steered their side home comfortably.

This is India’s second 10-wicket triumph in Tests after a scoring a similar win over the Proteas at Paarl in 2002.

After getting bundled out 266 in their first innings, South Africa fought well through hundred-makers Wolvaardt (122, 314b, 16×4) and Sune Luus (109, 203b, 18×4) in the second innings.

However, SA could only delay the inevitable.

Resuming at the overnight 232 for two, and trailing India by 105 runs, Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp appeared to be in good touch.

The former brought up her maiden Test century, also becoming the first woman batter to score a Test, ODI and T20I ton in the same year.

However, Kapp was soon trapped leg-before by Deepti Sharma for 31, while Sneh Rana ousted Delmi Tucker for a duck as the tourists slipped to 266 for four.

With still work to be done for the South Africans to take the lead, Wolvaardt tried to anchor the innings but was dismissed for 122 when Rajeshwari Gayakwad trapped her in front to reduce the visitors 281 for five.

But the Proteas marched on and went past the 300-run mark, their highest team total in Tests against the Indians. The previous best was the 266 that made in their opening innings here.

South Africa needed less than 50 runs to take the lead at this stage. Nadine de Klerk and Sinalo Jafta stuck together until the lunch break and SA were 302 for five then.

However, in the post-lunch session, Jafta retired hurt due to cramps, as the visitors sent Anne Dercksen to join De Klerk.

But Dercksen departed for five, falling to Pooja Vastrakar with SA trailing by 27 runs.

Meanwhile, the tourists went past 316 to register their highest score in Test cricket, going past the 315 they made against England at Shenley in 2003.

Although South Africans closed in on a lead they struggled to get the partnerships going.

The next stand was worth 14 runs between De Klerk and Tumi Sekhukhune before the latter was run out for six.

Jafta returned to bat, but she could add just nine more runs and departed for 15 and they went to tea at 336 for eight.

The hosts eventually conceded the lead in the final session. This was the third instance of India giving away the lead after enforcing a follow-on and the fifth overall.

The partnership between De Klerk and Masabata Klaas produced 23 runs before the latter fell to Shafali, who cleaned her up.

De Klerk, who was dropped on fifty by Renuka Singh and Vastrakar during a mix-up, brought up her half-century soon but Rajeshwari Gayakwad knocked her out for 61.

India posted the biggest ever total in the history of women’s Test cricket by scoring a mammoth 603 for six declared before South Africa Women fought valiantly through Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp on day two of the one-off Test, here Saturday. The hosts resumed the day at the overnight score of 525 for four with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh beginning the proceedings. Playing her fifth Test, the India skipper raised her maiden half-century in the long format, scoring 69 of 115 balls while Richa (86) also got her career-best knock of 86 to extend India’s domination. They added 143 runs for the fifth wicket.

At 576, the Indians broke the record of the highest team total in the Women’s Test cricket, bettering the previous record held by Australia, who had posted 575 for nine declared against South Africa in Perth this February.

However, at 593, the stand was broken after Harmanpreet was trapped leg-before by Tumi Sekhukhune.

Just 10 runs later, Richa departed too after being trapped leg-before by Nonkululeko Mlaba, and the Indian captain declared the innings.

South Africa put up a spirited fight with top-order batter Sune Luus (65) and Marizanne (69 not out) as they finished the day at 236 for four, trailing by 367 runs.

Delmi Tucker remained the most successful South African bowler with figures of two for 141, while Masabata Klaas was the most economical of all.

The Proteas began on a convincing note with the bat and remained safe at 29 for no loss at the lunch break.

However, the hosts struck after the break, with Sneh Rana trapping the visiting captain leg-before for 20 with a delivery that surprisingly kept low, with the partnership lasting 33 runs.

In came Luss to join Bosch, and the pair made the most of the batting friendly wicket. The duo added 63 for the second wicket, but Rana broke the stand by removing Bosch for 39.

As Kapp joined Luus, South Africa was 106 for two at the tea break.

In the day’s final session, the two batters brought up their respective half-centuries and took the partnership to 93 runs before Luus was trapped leg-before by Deepti Sharma, with the score reading 189 for three.

The stand was Proteas’ best third-wicket partnership in the format.

Nine runs later, Delmi Tucker was caught behind off Rana for a duck. But, the pair of Kapp and Nadine de Klerk played out the remainder of the day with an unbeaten 38-run stand for the fifth wicket.

The hosts did not exactly struggle with the ball. While the lack of enough turns did make it challenging out there, the ball occasionally kept low, troubling the visitors.

The Indians were decent with their fielding efforts, but a couple of close chances did not go their way.

For India, Rana was the star with the ball, with her figures reading three for 61, whereas Deepti Sharma was also impressive (1/40).

Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues in action© PTI