IND-W vs SA-W, 1st T20I Review: South Africa women continue their good run in India after winning the first T20I comfortably

After losing the ODI series, the India women’s had a bad start to the T20I series against South Africa women’s teams. On Saturday, South Africa beat India by eight wickets in the first of the three T20Is at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The hosts failed to put a big total on the board ending with only 130 for 6 from their 20 overs. 

Stand-in South African skipper Sune Luus was smart to read the pitch and conditions as she won the toss and chose to field first. Considering the fact that the dew was going to come into play under lights, Luus’ decision to bowl first turned out to be a masterstroke. The Indian team didn’t get to a good start after their stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana got out for just 11 in the second over of the innings. 

17-year-old Shafali Verma started building a good partnership with Harleen Deol. However, the duo couldn’t accelerate and push the run rate well beyond six. Eventually, Verma got out for 23 runs off 22 balls. Deol continued along her way, only to lose her wicket in the 18th over. She made a good contribution of 52 runs off 47 balls, which was also her maiden fifty in international cricket. 

Anne Bosch’s all-round performance helps South Africa get an easy win against India

Deol’s wicket fell with the score being at 116 for 3 in 17.1 overs. But, the next 17 balls produced 14 runs and three wickets, which didn’t allow India to get past 130 for 6. Senior fast-bowler, Shabnim Ismail was absolutely fantastic with the ball initially and at the death. She ended with figures of 3 for 14 in her four overs. Anne Bosch chipped in with two wickets as well. 

When it came to the run-chase, South Africa women’s planned their innings quite well and didn’t allow the required rate to get to an unreachable position. India did get a sniff when Arundhati Reddy dismissed in-form batswoman, Lizelle Lee, for just 8 early on. But Bosch and skipper Luus stitched a cautious partnership which didn’t allow India to get back in the match. 

Bosch stayed unbeaten on 66 runs off 48 balls guiding her side to an eight-wicket win with five balls to spare. Luus also made a crucial contribution of 43 runs from 49 balls. India did miss the services of their T20I captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, who was ruled out of the first match due to a hip injury. The second T20I will be played on Sunday, March 21 and it has not been updated if Kaur will come back to lead her side.