South Africa took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series with a last-ball, 8-wicket win at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow. India’s 17-year-old duo of Shafali Verma (47 in 31 balls) and Richa Ghosh (44* in 26) took them to 158/4. Lizelle Lee (70 in 45) and Laura Wolvaardt (53* in 39) led the charge for South Africa. India were in it even after 19.4 overs of the South African innings, when the tourists needed another 6 runs to win. Then a head-high full-toss from Arundhati Reddy altered the course of the match.
The sides will now meet for the third – somewhat redundant – T20I, the final match of the tour. Here is a statistical preview.
0 series wins for South Africa against India. They have already won this one, and will be keen on a whitewash. Interestingly, the sides have never met in the T20 World Cup.
1.196 India’s win-loss ratio (67 wins, 56 defeats), the fourth among all sides with a 50-match cut-off. South Africa is sixth, with 0.855 (53 wins, 61 defeats).
2 wickets needed by Marizanne Kapp (62) to go past Dane van Niekerk (63) and become the second-highest wicket-taker among South Africans. Only Ismail (110) has more wickets.
3 wickets needed by Luus (47) to become the fourth South African to 50 wickets. Ismail (110), van Niekerk (63), and Kapp (62) are the only others to have done this.
1.75 India’s win-loss ratio against South Africa (7 wins, 4 defeats), their fourth-best against any side with a 10-match cut-off. South Africa’s 0.571 is their third-worst.
3 uncapped players in the Indian side – Monica Patel, Challuru Prathyusha, and Ayushi Soni. One or more of them may add to their list of 67 T20I caps.
5 wickets needed by Poonam (95) to become the first Indian and fifth overall to 100 wickets. Anisa Mohammed (120), Ellyse Perry (114), Ismail (110), and Anya Shrubsole (102) are the only ones to have done this. Nida Dar has 99 wickets.
14 runs needed by Kapp (986) to become the fifth South African to reach the 1,000-run landmark. Only van Niekerk (1,839), Lizelle Lee (1,770), Mignon du Preez (1,750), and Trisha Chetty (1,109) have done this. Kapp will also become the second South African (after her wife van Niekerk) and 10th overall to do the 1,000 run-50 wicket double.
24 runs needed by Rodrigues (976) to become the fourth Indian to reach the 1,000-run landmark. Only Mithali Raj (2,364), Harmanpreet Kaur (2,186), and Mandhana (1,737) have done this.
25 consecutive T20Is for Radha Yadav with at least one wicket in every match now, already a world record. She had taken 11 wickets in her first 11 matches and another 39 in her next 25.
70 runs needed by Lee (1,770) and 90 by du Preez to go past van Niekerk and become the leading run-scorer for South Africa.