South Africa Women took a 2-1 lead in the five-match ODI series against India Women after clinching the third match by six runs via D/L method. Lizelle Lee’s beautifully paced unbeaten 132 put South Africa into the lead, especially her two consecutive boundaries in the 46th over just before the rain came.
Chasing 249 for a win, Lee and stand-in captain Laura Woldvaart (12) added 41 runs in 10 overs before the latter was dismissed by Deepti Sharma. Lara Goodall (16) went for an ambitious shot over mid-on but was caught by Harmanpreet Kaur off Jhulan Goswami. But Lee had ensured South Africa never lost sight of the chase. At this point they were 81/2 in 21.2 overs.
She found an ally in Mignon du Preez. They added 97 runs for the third wicket. Du Preez focused on playing out Goswami whose first spell read 6-2-9-1. She brought in the stability South African innings required and looked for singles, rotated strike, and continued the momentum. Slowly and steadily du Preez and Lee took South Africa close.
However, with the score on 178 in the 37th over, Rajeshwari Gayakwad provided India women the breakthrough. Just after Lee reached her third ODI hundred, du Preez mistimed for an easy catch for Punam Raut. The Indians were jubilant in the next over when Goswami got Marizane Kapp for duck, caught by Mithali Raj. At that point, with 71 required off 73 deliveries, it was anyone’s match. Anne Bosch, playing her sixth ODI, provided good company to Lee who continued to bat without a fuss.
To add to the drama, there was a slight drizzle from the 44th over. With 38 required in 30 balls, Raj handed the ball to Harmanpreet Kaur. Keeping the rain in consideration, she might have gone for Goswami for the 46th over instead of Kaur. Goswami finished with 2-20, but never got a chance to bowl her full quota.
Kaur conceded 10 runs including two fours off the last two deliveries. After three more deliveries, rain took centrestage, and the umpires were forced to end the match giving South Africa a 6-run win. Lee remained unbeaten on 132 from 131 balls, her career-best ODI innings.
Earlier in the day, South Africa won the toss and elected to field first. Jemimah Rodrigues was the first player to be dismissed for a two-ball duck, her third failure in the series. Thankfully for the Indian team, Smriti Mandhana is in good touch. She scored a brisk 27-ball 25 including four fours to her name but could not continue for a big innings like last match. She fell to Tumi Sekhukhune, playing her first match in the series.
The partnership between Punam Raut and Raj turned out to be crucial. Raut had walked in during the first over. She played the key innings for India with a 108-ball 77. Raj got 36 in 50 balls, and they stitched together a partnership of 77 runs for the third wicket. But both were dismissed by the 34th over, and it was India’s middle-order’s responsibility to take India to a respectable score.
Kaur (36 in 46) and Sharma (36* in 49) added 60 runs in the next 11 overs before the former was brilliantly caught by Sekhukhune. Sharma and wicketkeeper Sushma Verma took India to 248/5. Shabnim Ismail picked up 2-46, while Kapp, Sekhukhune, and Anne Bosch got a wicket each.
The teams will meet again on Sunday to play the fourth match of the five-match series.
Brief scores:
India Women 248/5 in 50 overs (Punam Raut 77; Shabnim Ismail 2-46) lost to South Africa Women 223/4 in 46.2 overs (Lizelle Lee 132*; Jhulan Goswami 2-20) by 6 runs (DLS Method). Player of the Match: Lizelle Lee.