India began their Women’s Tri-nation Series campaign in Colombo with a dominant nine-wicket win over hosts Sri Lanka in a rain-shortened 39-over ODI. Debutant Nallapureddy Shree Charani (2/26) impressed with her bowling, while returning all-rounder Sneh Rana starred with 3/31 as India restricted Sri Lanka to 147, despite contributions from Hasini Perera (30) and Kavisha Dilhari (25). Chasing 148, India’s openers Smriti Mandhana (43) and Pratika Rawal (50*) laid the foundation with a 54-run stand before Rawal and Harleen Deol (48*) sealed victory with an unbeaten 95-run partnership, earning Rawal Player of the Match honours.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side was up against South Africa, led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt, in the 2nd game of the ODI Tri-nation series in Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
Pratika Rawal shines with yet another half-century as India posts 276/6
The Indian openers Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana got their side off to a solid start with a solid 83-run opening partnership. The pair scored at a brisk rate of over 4 runs an over. Annerie Dercksen broke the stand, by sending Smriti Mandhana (36 off 54 balls) back to the pavilion in the 19th over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for South Africa.
Harleen Deol joined Pratika Rawal at the crease, and the duo capitalised on the solid platform with another crucial 68-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side past the 150-run mark. The opening batter Pratika Rawal continued her stellar form with the bat, scoring another half-century. She also became the fastest to score 500 runs in Women’s ODIs, achieving the landmark in just 8 innings.
Nonkululeko Mlaba cleaned up Pratika Rawal (78 off 91 balls) to get the much-needed 2nd breakthrough for her side in the 31st over of the innings. Harleeen Deol (29 off 47 balls) soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 3rd breakthrough for South Africa in the 33rd over of the innings. Jemimah Rodrigues joined skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease, and the pair switched gears to take them past the 200-run mark with a vital 59-run partnership for the 4th wicket.
Masabata Klaas broke the stand, by sending an ominous Jemimah Rodrigues (41 off 32 balls) back to the pavilion in the 43rd over of the innings to provide the 4th breakthrough for South Africa. A late flourish from the wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (24 off 14 balls) took India to an above-par total of 276/6 in their quota of 50 overs. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (41* off 48 balls) stayed unbeaten till the end.
Nonkululeko Mlaba (10-0-55-2) was the top performer with the ball, while Nadine de Klerk (9-1-39-1), Masabata Klaas (9-1-43-1), and Ayabonga Khakha (8-1-42-1) were impressive with the ball for South Africa.
Sneh Rana leads the fightback after a threatening opening stand
Chasing the target of 277, the South African openers Tazmin Brits and skipper Laura Wolvaardt got their side off to a flying start with a massive 140-run opening partnership. Deepti Sharma broke the stand, by getting the big scalp of the opposition skipper, Laura Wolvaardt (43 off 75 balls) in the 28th over of the run chase to provide the much-needed first breakthrough for India. She fell seven runs short of her half-century.
The Proteas women never really got the momentum after the departure of their skipper, as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The veteran opening batter Tazmin Brits kept South Africa in the contest by notching her 3rd ODI century (109 off 107 balls). Vital contributions from Sune Luus (28 off 34 balls) and Chloe Tryon (18 off 22 balls), and a breezy cameo from Annerie Dercksen (30 off 20 balls), were eventually not enough to get South Africa over the line in the run chase.
South Africa were bundled out for 261, with four balls to spare, falling 15 runs short of the target. The experienced veteran Sneh Rana led the fightback as she claimed her maiden five-wicket haul (10-0-43-5) in the ODI format for India. Deepti Sharma (10-0-40-1), Nallapureddy Shree Charani (10-0-51-1), and Arundhati Reddy (9-0-59-1) picked up a wicket each with the ball for India.
Sneh Rana was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-defining spell (10-0-43-5), claiming her maiden five-wicket haul, as a result, playing a pivotal role as India clinched consecutive victories in the ongoing Tri-nation ODI series.
