A dominant show on the field helped India level the three-match T20I series against South Africa 1-1 with a 10-wicket win in the final fixture in Chennai on Tuesday.
Course correction with the ball - better line and length, focussed plans, bowling to the field - helped the host bowl out South Africa for a paltry 84 after opting to field in overcast conditions. A raucous crowd helped make the Chepauk Stadium a claustrophobic cauldron for the women in yellow and green.
Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits began fluently but with caution, getting 17 runs off the first two overs. Arundhati Reddy, who was smacked for 37 runs in the previous game, came in with some disciplined swing bowling, conceding just two runs in her first over.
Wolvaardt was the first to fall, miscuing a tossed up delivery to Arundhati at mid-off. Marizanne Kapp began with two boundaries but fell to Pooja Vastrakar who gnawed at the Proteas lineup with tighter lines and use of the wobble seam.
Radha Yadav’s miserly three-run over in the seventh helped unsettle Brits, who was dismissed by Deepti Sharma, with a brilliant low catch at mid-off by Harmanpreet Kaur.
The pressure enveloped Anneke Bosch and Chloe Tryon, with the former eventually trapped leg before by Pooja in the 11th over. The pacer then ripped through Nadine de Klerk’s stumps to leave the Proteas reeling at 61/5.
The South African innings died a long-drawn painful death, the last five wickets falling for just 23 runs in 7.1 overs. The anaemic target meant Kapp rolled her arm for the first time in the tour, conceding just three runs in the two overs she bowled.
India cantered to victory, taking nearly 11 overs to seal the game. With nearly 15,000 fans on their feet chanting for a six, Smriti promptly obeyed with a maximum over deep midwicket to bring up her 24th T20I fifty and the win.
