South Africa Women barely broke a sweat in pursuit of 268 against India Women in the fourth ODI of the five-match series, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. This was the biggest target they have chased in ODIs. With the win, South Africa have now taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series, reducing the fifth match to a formality.
The chase was set up by Lizelle Lee (69) and stand-in captain Laura Wolvaardt (53), who added 116 in 23 overs. India pulled things back a bit after dismissing both, but the attack looked far from threatening in the absence of Jhulan Goswami, who missed the match due to a hand injury.
As Lara Goodall (59 not out) played herself in, Mignon du Preez launched a furious onslaught in the 40th over. South Africa needed 76 in 11 overs before that, but du Preez slammed three consecutive fours off Radha Yadav. She hit three more boundaries in the next two overs.
India had another chance, when du Preez mistimed one off Rajeshwari Gayakwad. That over went for only two runs, and was followed by a five-run over by Radha Yadav. South Africa needed 24 runs in the last four overs, but Goodall and Marizanne Kapp (22 not out in 18) needed just 16 of these to win the match.
Earlier in the day, India Women put up 266/4 largely due to Punam Raut’s unbeaten 104. Coming out after five overs, Raut batted through the Indian innings, adding 44 with Priya Punia (32), 103 with Mithali Raj (45), and 88 with Harmanpreet Kaur (54 in 35 balls).
While these were crucial stands, India probably lost momentum somewhere during the partnership between Raut and Raj, who became the first to reach 7,000 runs in the format. They scored at under five despite having wickets in hand on a pitch that offered little to the bowlers. It was not until Kaur took the attack to the South African camp that some momentum was infused into the proceedings.
Unfortunately, Kaur missed a straight ball from Tumi Sekhukhune just when it seemed she would take India past the 275-mark. Had she been around, India might have been able to pose some semblance of a threat to the South African batters. The Indian effort turned out to be inadequate.
Brief scores:
India Women 266/4 in 50 overs (Punam Raut 104*, Harmanpreet Kaur 54; Tumi Sekhukhune 2-63) lost to South Africa Women 269/3 in 48.4 overs (Lizelle Lee 69, Mignon du Preez 61, Lara Goodall 59*, Laura Wolvaardt 53; Harmanpreet Kaur 1-38) by 7 wickets with 8 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Mignon du Preez.