An impressive century was made by Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp, who almost upended the ebullient hundreds of Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur. Still, India held their composure to defeat South Africa by four runs in a thrilling final-over match on Wednesday, securing an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the ODI series in Bengaluru.
In the opening game on Sunday, India defeated South Africa by a score of 143 runs.
After India amassed an impressive 325 for three, it came down to margins thanks to innings from Mandhana (136, 120b, 18×4, 2×6) and Harmanpreet (unbeaten, 103, 88b, 9×4, 3×6), who scored their seventh and sixth one-day tonnes, respectively.
But Wolvaardt (135 not out, 135b, 12×4 3×6) and Kapp (114, 94b, 11×4, 3×6), who scored 184 runs off 170 balls for the fourth wicket, helped the Proteas fight back, managing 321 for six.
In contrast to the previous game, the Chinnaswamy pitch remained truer; therefore, for the Indian bowlers to be effective on this day, they needed to be exact with their line and length.
That’s precisely what they did. The home bowlers picked up wickets regularly and never gave the South African batters a free run.
Arundhati Reddy, a pacer who stepped in for Renuka Singh, gave India a strong start by getting past Tazmin Brits’ defence with a ball that came in by that bit.
But when Mandhana took out Sune Luus, who had been caught behind by Richa Ghosh, to claim her first international wicket, it was the crowd’s favourite moment.
This brought together Wolvaardt and Kapp, who used superb footwork and shot selection to withstand the Indian spinners.
Kapp was the more aggressive of the two, as her two strong rips off Pooja Vastrakar sent balls flying to the fence. Kapp made fifty off 53 balls.
With a well-timed swat four off Vastrakar to mid-wicket, Wolvaardt gave Kapp a strong push and reached her fifty in 69 balls.
When Kapp hit a boundary off left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, they reached 100 runs for the fourth wicket in 114 balls.
Although the South African duo hardly ever attempted an aerial shot together, their survival-first strategy helped push the asking rate beyond nine and eventually into ten.
With a set Kapp and Wolvaardt in the middle, the visitors needed to score 103 runs in the next ten overs, and it appeared simple, but they would have to take their chances to do so.
The alliance’s enforcer, Kapp, who got her century in 85 balls, went straight after off-spinner Deepti Sharma, but Vastrakar ended the dangerous stand with a well-timed catch close to the boundary.
After that, Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk added 69 runs off 41 balls for the fifth wicket, but Vastrakar’s 11 runs off the final over proved insufficient for the victory that night.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s aggressive century and Smriti Mandhana’s elegant eighth one-day century—her second in as many games—boosted India to a commanding 325 for three over South Africa.
After being asked to bat first, Mandhana hit 136 (120b, 18×4, 2×6), and Harmanpreet hit 103 not out (88b, 9×4, 3×6), her sixth tonne in an ODI, milked 171 runs for the third wicket, and dominated the Proteas spinners.
Laura Wolvaardt, the captain of South Africa, appeared to have made the right call when Ayabonga Khaka and Masabata Klaas, two new-ball bowlers, found noticeable bounce and movement in the cloudy skies.
As Mandhana, whom she subsequently lost on 69 off left-arm spinner Nondumiso Shangase, and Shefali Verma fought for a move, Khaka began with two maidens in a row.
Only in the sixth over did Shafali of India score their first boundary, a pull off Klaas, but the opener was soon out of the game, removed by left-arm spinner Noku Mlaba.
Following, there was a phase of consolidation as Dayalan Hemalatha and Mandhana combined for 62 runs for the second wicket, with Dayalan being the more prominent player.
Hemalatha (24), who hit two sixes off Shangase, appeared to have more left in her, but Anneke Bosch put an end to her attempt to slog-sweep Klaas.
But the game took a different turn when India’s captain, Harmanpreet, arrived. The team’s run rate, circling four until then, shot above five and then six runs per over.
Mandhana hit Shangase for three consecutive fours, taking her to the nineties during a stretch that saw her hit five fours in six balls.
After being dismissed by Klaas off her bowling on 41, Harmanpreet quickly found her form and began to score by pulling Sune Luus.
As the innings progressed, the right-hander’s aggressive tendencies became more evident as she hammered Klaas with consecutive balls of four and six.
The bowlers from SA attempted to impede Smriti’s unrestrained style by bowling wide off her off-stump. Even though the tactic was worth trying, they made many mistakes as the vice-captain of India quickly scored several boundaries.
With a single against Luus, she hit her hundred from 103 balls, and in the last over, Harmanpreet became her deputy by securing a boundary off Klaas.
Taking advantage of some poor bowling and fielding from the visitors, India amassed 118 runs in the final ten overs.
In 50 overs, India scored 325 for 3 (Smriti Mandhana with 136, Harmanpreet Kaur with 103 not out, and Nonkululeko Mlaba with 2/51).