by Mandhana steals the showSmritis teammates in the pavilion gave her a standing ovation as she raised her bat to celebrate the century in the 43rd over She deserved the adulation after bailing India out of trouble on a tricky surface After opting to bat first the home team lost wickets regularlyThey were five wickets down including those of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur 10 Shafali Verma 7, Jemimah Rodrigues 17 before India reached the threefigure markWhile lowerorder batters Deepti, Pooja came up with useful contributions the onus continued to be on Smriti to take her team to a good total, she did not dis appointFirst up the sixthwicket partnership of 81 with Deepti kept the scoreboard ticking After Deepti was sent back by Khaka Smriti, Vastrakar were involved in a 58run stand before the Mumbaikar was caught by Sune Luus off Masabata Klaas in the 47th over helping India compile a competitive totalBrief scoresIndia women 2658 in 50 overs Smriti Mandhana 117 Deepti Sharma 37 Pooja Vastrakar 31 Ayabonga Khaka 347 Masabata Klaas 251 vs South Africa women 122 in 374 overs Sune Luus 33 Marizanne Kaap 24 Sinalo Jafta 27 Deepti 210 Asha Sobhana 421
Published in The Times of India (Online) (17.06.2024)