The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo witnessed a clash of grit and grandeur as India, fresh off a nine-wicket demolition of Sri Lanka, locked horns with a determined South Africa led by Laura Wolvaardt in the second ODI of the Women’s Tri-Nation series. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side, buoyed by debutant Nallapureddy Shree Charani’s poise and Sneh Rana’s three-wicket haul marking a memorable return to the Indian ODI set-up in the Tri-series opener, aimed to solidify their dominance.
South Africa, led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt, were keen to start their campaign on a positive note against a high-flying India. The Women in Blue posted a challenging total of 276/6 in their quota of 50 overs, after skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first. Pratika Rawal yet again top-scored with the bat (78 off 91 balls), scoring her 5th ODI half-century in 8 innings. She also became the fastest to surpass the 500-run mark in the ODI format (8 innings).
Chasing a challenging total of 277, the South African openers Tazmin Brits and skipper Laura Wolvaardt were threatening to take the game away and finish it off in a canter when the duo stitched a massive 140-run opening stand. However, the warrior-spirited, all-rounder, experienced veteran Sneh Rana had other plans, who’s on a comeback mission into India’s white-ball set-up, after falling out of the selectors’ radar for over a year.
Deepti Sharma broke through for India, sending the opposition skipper Laura Wolvaardt back to the pavilion in the 28th over of the run chase. Sneh Rana wasted no time in further crashing the door wide open for India, with quick strikes at regular intervals. She started things off by sending Lara Goodall back to the pavilion. Sneh Rana’s spell was a masterclass in off-spin bowling, blending flight, dip, and subtle variations in pace.
Rana’s willingness to toss the ball up, even at the death, disrupted batters’ rhythm. Brits’ dismissal exemplified how she used the dip to induce errors. She then went on to send the destructive Chloe Tryon (18 off 22 balls) back to the pavilion towards the business end of the run chase in the 46th over of the innings, getting her 2nd scalp of the day and providing the 5th breakthrough for India.
She quickly wiped off the couple of finishers in Nadine de Klerk for a two-ball duck. She then nailed the knockout punch by sending an ominous Annerie Dercksen (30 off 20 balls) and a well-set Tazmin Brits (109 off 107 balls) in the 48th over of the run chase, killing the fizz out of the contest with triple strikes, pulling the game back in India’s favour.
India eventually wrapped the South African innings at 261, with four balls to spare, sealing the game by 15 runs. Sneh Rana eventually ended with her career-best spell, claiming her maiden five-wicket haul in the ODI format. Her impressive match figures (10-0-43-5) also earned her the well-deserved accolade of being named as the Player of the Match for her game-changing spell.
Sneh Rana’s spell was cricket’s equivalent of a mic drop reminder that patience, when paired with precision, can outshine even the most glittering centuries. India, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, will next be up against the hosts, Sri Lanka, led by skipper Chamari Athapaththu, in the 4th game of the Tri-nation ODI series on 4th May 2025 (Sunday) at the R Premadasa Stadium, in Colombo from 10 AM IST.
