Mandhana and Arundhati help India beat South Africa 3-0 – The Island

A masterclass from Smriti Mandhana and sharp bowling from Arudhati Reddy helped India beat South Africa by six wickets in the third and final ODI and seal the series 3-0 in Bengaluru.

Crowd favorite Mandhana played in front of 15,000 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and led India’s narrow chase of 216 but narrowly missed a century, making 90 off 83 balls. She ended the series with 343 runs after two hundreds in the first two matches. Mandhana’s total was also the most points scored in a three-match women’s series as she surpassed Laura Wolvaardt’s 335 against Sri Lanka in April 2024.

She put up 61-run and 62-run stands with Shafali Verma (25) and Priya Punia (28), India’s new No. 3, to spark the chase. Seven of her eleven fours came offside, six of which only went into the coverage area. Alongside Harmanpreet Kaur (42 0ff 48), she shared 48 off 47 to blunt the South African attack. Adapting to different pitches and situations, Mandhana has shown immense maturity and clarity by playing long innings, not just once, but thrice in a row. However, a top edge from Ayabonga Khaka at short leg in the 31st over ended her knock. India then needed 45 from the remaining 19 overs and the rest of the batters completed the formalities with 9.2 overs remaining.

This was after South Africa collapsed, where they lost eight wickets for 76 runs.

After coming close to chasing India’s 325 in the second match, the visitors had a disappointing performance with the bat after a smooth start from Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits. They got through the first ten overs without losing a wicket, for the first time in this series, and added 46. Wolvaardt continued her purple streak, notching her 32nd half-century in her 98th ODI.

She started calmly, hitting 9 off her 15 balls and then targeted Pooja Vastrakar in the 10th over, hitting four fours with beautiful cover drives and pulls. A sweep and a pull from Radha Yadav’s left-arm spin gave her two more fours, and she tapped a short and wide delivery from Smriti Mandhana to the deep third.

On the other hand, the British got off to a cautious start after being bowled out for 18 and 5 in the first two games of the series. On Sunday, the aim was to stay longer in her comeback series after a knee injury. A six over deep midwicket and a four to fine leg and deep backward point gave the impression she was getting her rhythm back.

The duo took the team past a hundred in 119 balls and looked set to keep the momentum going. But an excellent reaction catch from Arundhati Reddy dismissed Wolvaardt for a 57-ball 61, ending the 102-run partnership in the 20th over.

In the next over, Brits was bowled out for 66-ball 38 after a mix-up with Marizanne Kapp, who was promoted to No. 3 after her century in the previous match.

In her five-over third spell, Reddy produced another moment of brilliance, another catch in the follow-on move to send Anneke Bosch back. Two overs later, Shreyanka Patil, who had come on as legspinner S Asha, dismissed the trapped Kapp and bowled for 7, going around the wicket for the fifth ball after bowling the previous four from over the wicket.

From 102 for 0, South Africa were left at 120 for 4. Cameos from Nadine de Klerk and Mieke de Ridder helped them post over 200, but India’s tight bowling never let them into the game.

On a pitch with cracks on one half and grass on the other, Harmanpreet kept at least one spinner in play on one side for almost the entire innings after Patil opened the bowling. Reddy was the best bowler on the day, finishing with figures of 2 for 36 in ten overs across four spells.

Deepti Sharma, the most economical bowler of the day, also had her moment by taking two wickets in two balls, bowling out de Klerk and Nonkululeko Mlaba in the 43rd over.

There was a light drizzle after the first innings, but that too trickled away, as did South Africa’s batting, and did not result in any overs being lost.

Short scores:
Indian women 220 for 4 in 40.4 overs (Smriti Mandhana 90, Shafali Verma 25, Priya Punia 28, Harmanpreet Kaur 42) defeat South African women 215 for 8 in 50 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 61, Tazmin Britts 38, Nadine de Klerk 26, Mieke de Ridder 26*; Arundhati Reddy 2-36, Deepti Sharma 2-27) by six wickets

(Cricinfo)