SA-W vs IND-W: All-round South Africa hammer India by 8 wickets, take 2-0 lead in Durban

South Africa women hammered India women by eight wickets in the second T20I on Sunday, April 19 at Kingsmead, Durban to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. After being put in to bat first, India were bundled out for 147 in their allotted 20 overs with Shafali Verma scoring a lone half-century.

In reply, South Africa chased down the target of 17.1 overs, with captain Laura Wolvaardt (54 off 34) leading from the front alongside Sune Luus (57 off 46). Earlier in the day, India once again lost Smriti Mandhana (12 off 7) cheaply, while Jemimah Rodrigues (2 off 4) also fell prey to Chloe Tryon.

However, Shafali continued her attacking approach and stitched a 53-run stand off 46 balls for the third wicket with debutant Anushka Sharma (28 off 31). She brought up her half-century off 31 deliveries and kept the run rate in check.

However, following her dismissal, none of the batters could hang in the middle as India suffered another big collapse, losing seven wickets in 39 balls, scoring just 38 runs. Tryon and Tumi Sekhukhune (3/31) were the pick of the bowlers for South Africa women.

In reply, South Africa got off to a brilliant start to their chase with captain Laura Wolvaardt (54 off 34) and Sune Luus (57 off 46), adding 106 runs for the first wicket off 72 deliveries. Following their dismissals, Tazmin Brits (20* off 17) and Annerie Dercksen (12* off 7), got their team over the line with 17 balls to spare.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Chloe Tryon was adjudged Player of the Match for her three-wicket haul. She first dismissed Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues inside the powerplay and later got rid of Anushka Sharma to end a crucial stand between her and Shafali to turn the game in South Africa’s favour.

Turning Point

Shafali Verma was in fine touch in the middle, having completed her half-century off just 31 deliveries. She held the key to guide India to a big score, but got dismissed by Nonkululeko Mlaba in the 14^th over, courtesy of a stunning catch by Nadine de Klerk. Shafali’s dismissal eventually became the turning point as India's batters once again fell like a pack of cards and were dismissed for a below-par score.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa Women):

Yeah, not bad (perfect game?). Pretty good in all three aspects again. One or two catches went down but we took some good ones as well. After the start they had, to chase only 140 was pretty good. I think it's definitely an area we struggled with last series (death overs bowling). So to see us sort of turn that around and then make a great comeback in that area is awesome. I think our bowlers sort of identified that the slower stuff into the wicket was working well. And I think they communicated that quite well as a group and executed well. I think it's something that we've spoken about a lot, just being a bit more aware cricket-wise, just being a little bit more present in the moment on the field. I think we've done that well this series. I'd like to see those small things that we're speaking about showing on the field. Big excitement (being 2-0 up). Obviously, change of venue. So we'll have an assessment. But yeah, very great position to be in to be 2-0 up. But I know this is a world-class Indian side, obviously world champions in ODI cricket. So they're gonna come back pretty hard. So they'll definitely have some plans for us coming next game. So, got to switch off tomorrow and then be ready for the next one.

Losing Captain, Harmanpreet Kaur (India Women):

Didn't bat well in the last 10 overs in both games. Bowling wise also the powerplay is not going our way. When you're not getting the shots, rotating strike is key. Unfortunately not able to do that. Have to stay together and think how to go about the next games. Shafali is a great talent for us. Attacking batter and does her job in the first six. Hopefully she'll keep doing the same. I think a new place and hopefully we'll go with a positive approach over there because, you know, this T20 format is like that sometimes things doesn't work, but it's always about staying together and keep thinking how we have to keep improving. And I think now we have two days and hopefully we'll keep discussing the areas where we have to keep improving as a team and hopefully we'll execute in the remaining matches.