SA-W vs IND-W: Laura Wolvaardt's blazing ton condemns India to 9-wicket loss in 3rd T20I

South Africa women hammered India women by nine wickets in the third T20I on Wednesday, April 22, at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. After being put in to bat first, India put up an improved batting performance to post a good score of 192/4 in their 20 overs.

In reply, South Africa made light work of the big target with captain Laura Wolvaardt once again leading from the front with a magnificent century. She was well supported by Sune Luus, who also scored an unbeaten 64* (42).

Earlier in the day, India got off to a good start with Smriti Mandhana (37 off 25) finally finding her feet, while her opening partner Shafali Verma (64 off 46) scored her second successive half-century.

After a solid start for the visitors, Nonkululeko Mlaba got the first success for South Africa, dismissing Mandhana and also removing Jemimah Rodrigues for a golden duck to leave India on 68/2 in 8.4 overs.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur walked in at number four and got involved in a crucial stand with Verma for the third wicket (73 off 42), who brought up her half-century off 36 deliveries. Kaur also brought up her fifty and went on to play a brilliant knock of 66 (38) to propel India’s score past 190 alongside Richa Ghosh (18* off 10).

In the second innings, Laura once again looked in fine touch as she put the Indian bowlers under pressure right from the word go. The South Africa skipper was at her belligerent best, completing her half-century off 23 balls, her fastest ever in the format.

Laura went on to score her third hundred in T20Is off just 47 deliveries, and got involved in a massive 183-run stand off just 92 balls with Sune Luus. She was finally dismissed for her joint-highest T20I score by Shreyanka Patil with South Africa just ten runs away from victory.

In the end, Sune Luus took South Africa over the line alongside Tazmin Brits as they sealed the series 3-0, with two games remaining.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Laura Wolvaardt was deservedly adjudged Player of the Match for her breathtaking century. She scored 115 off just 53 balls, smashing 14 fours and five sixes and led from the front in the run chase.

Turning Point

Wolvaardt was batting on 31 when she hit Arundhati Reddy towards Smriti Mandhana at extra cover. However, the India opener dropped the catch, which ended up hurting India as she went on to slam a match-winning century.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa Women):

Chasing 192, we knew we needed a really strong start, so I went out with a lot of intent and tried to back my strengths on what felt like a nice, flat surface in the second innings (on approach during the chase). I realized pretty early that it was a good wicket with the ball coming on nicely, so the focus was to maximize the powerplay and get ahead of the rate, which we managed with around 70 runs (on reading the pitch and powerplay strategy). Once we got through that phase, the idea was to keep going, stay with the rate, and try to finish the game as early as possible, and I’m just happy I could contribute (on pacing the innings). Sune also batted really well, and our chats in the middle were about staying calm despite being in slightly new territory after such a strong powerplay, reminding each other that we still had plenty of power left in the dugout and could keep playing our shots (on partnership and communication). It paid off nicely today, and I think that partnership worked because we kept things simple and backed ourselves (on the record stand). Overall, we’re in a really good space as a team; I thought we bowled well too, and it’s great to see us improving every game, including the players who came in and performed strongly (on team performance). Chasing has worked well for us so far, especially with favorable tosses, but it will be interesting to see how we go when we have to bat first, as this series is all about preparing for the World Cup and covering every scenario (on team progress and future challenges). Winning three in a row and securing the series against a side like India is really special, and while there could be a few changes in the remaining games with the World Cup in mind, we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved so far (on series win and outlook).

Losing Captain, Harmanpreet Kaur (India Women):

We were really looking at the score and that wasn't that bad. We would have put a really decent total on the board, but I think we should give credit to the South Africa batters the way they batted, and I think they didn't give us a single chance to come back in the game, even though a few chances we missed out, but I still feel that the way they were batting, I know we didn't have any second answer for them. And when we looked at the bowling, I think it didn't go as well as we had hoped it would. I think we were definitely looking a few wickets in the powerplay. I think that will always set the momentum for the game. But unfortunately, as I mentioned, for six overs, they were quite expensive. I think the bowling really really needed to take, I know batting didn't work in the first two games, but bowling in the same way, we are not upto the mark. I think as a bowling group, we really need to work hard if we have to keep doing well in the future, but I think it's a lot of learning for us and definitely we will learn and try to get better in the next games. Always good to get a few runs for the team (talking about her knock today) and really contribute when it was needed the most. And I think when you win, you feel okay, you feel happy, but I know I didn't help the team to win the game today, but as a batter, I'm quite happy that we have a strategy and hopefully I can do that. I think we have to stick to our plans (for the next 2 games). We have to keep doing the work, keep making sure to win the matches and hopefully, we will come up with a better plan in the next game.