IND W VS SA W T20

Right then, that is all we have from the entertaining game. India Women have started this series with a win but there is no shortage of games. The action continues on Saturday 21st January as South Africa Women take on West Indies Women at this very venue and the match starts at 6.30 pm IST (1 pm GMT). Do join us in advance for the build-up. Until then, goodbye and cheers!

Amanjot Kaur gets the Player of the Match award on her debut for scoring 41 runs in 30 balls. She says that she is really happy to contribute to the team as she got her opportunity and was able to grab it. Claims that she was thinking about getting as many runs as possible and was hoping that it would help her team to win. Mentions that Deepti Sharma helped her calm her nerves because she was nervous since it was her debut.

Smriti Mandhana the captain of India Women says that she is proud that her team showed character by building a match-winning partnership and the spinners did well on this wicket. Mentions that with the start they had, they were aiming for 120 but the kind of batting done by Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma got them 15 runs more, so credit to them. Claims that they asked the batters how the wicket was playing and they said that it was turning and was very dry which suits their spin bowlers. Adds that they bowled well while planning among themselves and whatever they decided, they executed well.

Sune Luus the skipper of South Africa Women says that it was their first game in 7 months. Adds that there is still a long way to go in this series and they will look to come back stronger. Mentions that they started off well but gave away way too many runs at the end. Lauds Deepti Sharma for her performance.  Claims that she felt like she was playing India Women in India with the amount of turn the pitch had to offer. Reckons that they needed someone to stay longer out in the middle and they could have chased down the target.

Time for the presentations...

The hosts had a great opportunity to win this game in the first inning as they had India Women struggling at 69 for the loss of 5 wickets. Yastika Bhatia was the only batter in the top five to get to double figures as she put on 35 runs. However, Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma put together a 76-run partnership in 50 balls to take their team to a comfortable position. India Women did not let go of the advantage thereafter as the bowlers tightened the screws and sealed a massive win.

South Africa Women could not get going as they were put under pressure straight away when they lost Laura Wolvaardt early. Anne Bosch followed her opening partner back to the shed soon after but Marizanne Kapp got together with Sune Luus and began rebuilding the inning but both departed after getting off to decent starts. Delmi Tucker departed on a golden duck and Chloe Tryon counterattack did not last long. Nadine de Klerk and Sinalo Jafta tried to get things moving but they were well behind the eight ball by then. Eventually, they crumbled towards the end and fell well short of the target.

India Women complete a comprehensive win! With the way the game started for them, no one would have guessed that they would win this tie by 27 runs. They grew in strength as the game progressed and they were all over their opponents. Their bowling proved to be a bit too strong for the South Africa Women batters as they were bundled out for 120 runs. Deepti Sharma got the early breakthrough as the spinners dominated proceedings from the word go. Eight wickets fell to the spinners with Deepti Sharma taking the last two and ending with three wickets in her kitty. Devika Vaidya got two crucial wickets with Sneh Rana, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, and Radha Yadav chipping in with one each.

OUT! STUMPED!! All-over for South Africa Women. India's Women get an easy win at the end by 27 runs. Deepti Sharma bowls this slow and outside off, Masabata Klaas got tempted into the shot and fails to get bat on the ball. She is Stumped here as Yastika Bhatia takes off the bails in a flash and Masabata Klaas is out for 2. Deepti Sharma picks up her third and caps off with a wonderful all-round effort.

Tosses it outside off, Ayabonga Khaka sweeps it from outside to deep mid-wicket for one.

Ayabonga Khaka makes her way out.

OUT! GONE! Tossed again on off, Sinalo Jafta advances, takes it on the full, and hits it off the toe end back to Deepti Sharma who takes a good low catch. There was no celebration on this one as nonchalantly takes it with ease. Deepti Sharma takes her second as Sinalo Jafta walks back for 11.

Full and outside off, Sinalo Jafta sweeps it to deep mid-wicket for a couple.

FOUR!! SMEARED! Overpitched outside off, Sinalo Jafta uses her feet again and pierces it through covers for a boundary. Excellent use of the feet and played nicely.

Tossed up outside off, Sinalo Jafta uses her feet and gets an outside edge as the ball runs away past short third for a couple.

Arm ball from Sneh Rana. Goes quicker and flatter past the batter. Masabata Klaas gets late to connect. A dot ball here.

Fuller outside off, Masabata Klaas uses her feet and drills it down to mid-off. A fumble from Smriti Mandhana allows the batter to take two.