India thrashes South Africa to win quadrangular series

Jhulan Goswami took three wickets, helping India dismiss South Africa for a paltry 156 in 40.2 overs. Then, Poonam Raut and Mithali Raj took the team to a comfortable win in 33 overs.

In her 100th ODI as India skipper, Mithali Raj, with an unbeaten 62, guided the team to a series win.

Poonam Raut and Mithali Raj shared an unbeaten 127-run stand as India beat South Africa by eight wickets in the final of the quadrangular series, here, on Sunday.

Jhulan Goswami took three wickets, helping India dismiss South Africa for a paltry 156 in 40.2 overs.

In the chase, India lost its openers — Deepti Sharma and Mona Meshram — cheaply before Poonam (70 off 92 ) and Mithali (62 off 79) took the team to a comfortable win in 33 overs. Mithali also became the first woman to lead India in over 100 ODIs.

India had lost to the South African women in the league stage. The other teams in the tournament were Zimbabwe and Ireland.

The tournament was good preparation for India ahead of the World Cup, which begins in the UK next month.

Brief scores:-

South Africa 156 all out in 40.2 overs (Luus 55; Goswami 3/22) lost to India 160/2 in 33 overs (Poonam Raut 70 not out, Mithali Raj 62 not out).