Smriti Mandhana continued her purple patch and capped a fine run with a record. The opener played another match-winning knock (90) to help India register a 6-wicket win, which ensured a 3-0 series sweep over South Africa in the third and final ODI at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
With a fine knock, Smriti took her three-match tally to 343, the highest individual score in a three-match bilateral ODI series in women’s cricket. She bettered South African Laura Wolvaardt’s record of 335. Opting to bat first, South Africa were restricted to 215 for 8 in 50 overs with Deepti Sharma and Arundhati Reddy scalping two wickets each. The target was not a tall order for the in-form home team, who reached the target in the 41st over.
Earlier, South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt (61) and Tazmin Brits (38) laid a solid foundation with a 102-run opening-wicket stand. But the visitors lost wickets, including both the openers, and Marizanne Kapp in quick succession to slump to 143/5.
Brief scores: South Africa 215 for 8 in 50 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 61, Tazmin Brits 38; Arundhati Reddy 2/36, Deepti Sharma 2/27) lost to India 220 for 4 in 40.4 overs (Smriti Mandhana 90, Harmanpreet Kaur 42) by six wickets.
