Twitter Reactions: Debutant Amanjot Kaur shines as India humbles South Africa in Tri-series opener

Amanjot Kaur was named the player of the match after she registered the second-highest individual score by an Indian on T20I debut.

By Chaitanya Prakash

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India Women's Team
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India Women's Team (Photo Source: Hotstar)

India completed a resounding victory against hosts South Africa in the Tri-series opener at Buffalo Park, despite Harmanpreet Kaur being unavailable for the clash. The visitors sealed a 27-run victory after an indispensable partnership between Deepti Sharma and the debutant Amanjot Kaur rescued their side from a perilous position in the first innings. The latter was named the player of the match for her impressive 41 off just 30 deliveries in the first innings, which propelled India to a competitive 147 runs.

Chasing a tricky target, the home side lost Laura Wolvaardt in the second over to Deepti Sharma. Anneke Bosch's miserable stay at the crease was also cut short soon after. However, veteran Marizanne Kapp and Proteas skipper Sune Luus threaten with a counter-attacking stand. But Kapp fell in an attempt to boost the scoring rate as India started to tighten their grip on the match.

The surface was not easy to bat on, and Smriti Mandhana, who captained in the absence of Harmanpreet Kaur, had a plethora of slow bowling options at her disposal to halt the opposition batters in their tracks. The Indian ground fielding was superb on the day and they managed to run out the Proteas skipper after some smart work by Rajeshwari Gayakwad.

It was a procession from thereon as the Indian spinners choked the run flow with wickets at regular intervals, eventually completing a comfortable victory for the Asian side. Deepti Sharma, who donned the role of the finisher earlier in the match, displayed her all-round brilliance after snaring three wickets with the ball to derail the Proteas chase.

Amanjot Kaur shines on debut for the visitors

Earlier, it was the visitors who were put into bat first by the South African skipper Sune Luus on a sticky surface at the Buffalo Park. The Indian team, who were without their influential skipper Harmanpreet Kaur due to an illness, were jolted early by the early dismissal of flamboyant Indian opener Smriti Mandhana in the third over of the match. 

Wickets kept falling from one end as Yastika Bhatia fought a lone battle in the first ten overs of the match. The Asian side were in a rather weak position, with the scoreboard reading 69/5 in the 12th over. South Africa were threatening to bundle out the visitors on a modest total before mercurial all-rounder Deepti Sharma and debutant Amanjot Kaur took the fight to the Proteas' bowlers.

The pair added a brisk stand of 76 runs for the sixth wicket, with Kaur being the aggressor to take India's tally to above par score of 147 runs on a wicket that had plenty for the slower bowlers. 

Here is how Twitter reacted to a clinical performance by the Indian team against South Africa:

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