India vs South Africa Women's ODI: India beats South Africa by 6 runs, takes series 3-0

Catch live scores, updates and commentary from the third ODI between India Women and South Africa Women at the Reliance Stadium, Vadodara.

Published : Oct 13, 2019 23:25 IST

Mithali Raj-led India will be hoping to complete a whitewash against South Africa in Vadodra.
Hello and welcome Sportstar's LIVE coverage of the third One Day International between India women and South Africa women at the Reliance Stadium, Vadodara. This is Lavanya and I will be taking you through proceedings in Vadodara today.

LIVE: What a game. What a result. After being on the backfoot through the entire moment, crucial moments and wickets at the right time ensured a third win and a series whitewash for the host. Dead rubber, they said. We know this was anything but that especially in the final hour. Thank you all for joining Ashwin and me as we brought this game live to you. Until the next game, this is goodbye from us at Sportstar.

India beats South Africa by six runs, wins ODI series 3-0

47.6 Rodrigues bowls to Sekhukhune and finds Deepti Sharma to seal this match and the series! South Africa loses this encounter despite being in a comfortable position for most part of the day. India takes the game by six runs, and the series 3-0. 46.3 ONE MORE GOES. NINTH WICKET GONE FOR THE PROTEAS. The field knows Ismail is itching to be a little reckless and Punam Raut is there to end Ismail's little joys. Ismail c Punam Raut b Harmanpreet Kaur 11(57) 137-8 45.4 WHAT A FREAK DISMISSAL. ONE MORE PROTEAN WICKET GOES DOWN. Shangase nicks one down the wicket, Joshi tries to catch and misses but the ball ricochets to Ekta Bisht who neatly takes the catch. Sheer luck! Nondumiso Shangase c Mansi Joshi b Ekta Bisht 10(31)

Ashwin reports: Poor captaincy from Mithali. Needs to get the fielders in a few steps to stop the singles. And Mithali hasn't used a silly point or short leg at any point in this innings. Plenty of catches have come in that region

South Africa is slowly yet steadily inching closer to that target. It needs 12 runs in 39 balls to take this game. Our correspondent Ashwin finds issues with Mithali Raj's field placement today.
Talking about Jemimah, she might have had a dull series so far but she is the life of a room wherever she goes. We caught up with her for an interview and a rapid fire.

You can read the interview by Shayan Acharya here .

42.3 Jemimah has grazed her torso over the boundary rope trying to stop the ball and seems in pain. Help has arrived. The replays show her landing right on the rope. That's bound to hurt. Maybe have the padded boundaries peripheries we see in big events here too?

 

Ashwin reports:India right back in the game. Marizanne protests that decision and stands ground, but the umpire got that right. Marizanne more angry with herself than the umpire

119-7 36.1  KAPP IS GONE! Deepti screams and appeals! She is absolutely convinced that she has Kapp. The LBW appeal is given. Kapp walks back, visibly disappointed. The delivery came in quick and pitched outside the offstump, but swung in, convincing everyone around the batter that she needed to walk. South Africa in trouble here. In comes Nondumiso Shangase. Kapp lbw b Deepti Sharma 29(43)

Ashwin reports: Deepti sharma misses a direct hit that would have gotten Marizanne well out. The fault lies with bowler Rajeshwari, who didn't bother to get behind the stumps and gather the throw. Big miss for India

35.1 CLOSE SHAVE!  Rajeshwari Gayakwad bowls to Kapp who gets the ball to cover before running across for a single. The throw comes back and misses the stumps ever so closely before Kapp is back to the crease safely. If that managed contact, the Proteas would have been in trouble. What a game this is turning out to be. Ashwin holds Rajeshwari, who steered clear of the overthrow from Deepti Sharma responsible. 15:04 - 116-6 Requirement now: 31 runs in 93 balls VITALS: 106/6 (33.0)  CRR: 3.21  REQ: 2.41 It feels like South Africa is stuck a little. The requirement is still 41. It has been around this mark for a while. The pace is gone but rightly so. Kapp cannot afford to lose her wicket at this stage. Caution from the Proteas. She's asked Ismail to curb her liking for going aerially down the track too. The Greens cannot afford an error at this stage.

Ashwin reports: The crowd comes to life after Luus' wicket. One more wicket and India will be favourite. Marizanne, of course, stands firm

103-6 (29.4) INDIA HAS! There's a breakthrough! LUUS GOES for 24 (54). Ekta Bisht makes this caught and bowled look simple. In comes Shabnim Ismail. Sune Luus c and b Ekta Bisht 24(54) South Africa has crossed the 100-run mark, Kapp flicks a Harmanpreet delivery to long-on for a single to bring up the century for the Proteans. Bulk of the work done, a little more to go, a lot of that thanks to this Luuz-Kapp partnership. Can India manage a breakthrough at this stage?  

Ashwin reports: Keep Taniya stands up to pacer Shikha. Trisha Chetty did this a lot too. It's a risky ploy - leaves zero time to collect even fine edges. Especially on a low pitch. It's not as if the batters are walking down the track, so tough to understand why keepers want to stand up

While the women battle it out here in Vadodara, another dramatic scene is unfolding in Mumbai. Sourav Ganguly has decided to stand for the post of BCCI President. Now there's something you will want to know about as it happens. Keep following the updates here on Sportstar and from Shayan Acharya, our Mumbai correspondent.

South African innings breakdown so far: (We did this at the 30th over for India. Let's see what's different here as SA races towards the 25 over mark)

In 22 overs, five wickets have fallen, ten boundaries, no sixes. Not a day for the maximums, it seems. Coming next in the order are: Shabnim Ismail, Nondumiso Shangase, Tumi Sekhukhune,Ayabonga Khaka Kapp and Luuz are slowly building a partnership. South Africa needs this with the match now evenly poised. Proteas need 72 to win with five wickets in hand.

Ashwin reports: Rajeshwari getting her first match of the series, and making it count. Picked up two crucial wickets. The second one to castle Lara was a proper Muralitharan-esque turner With SA under huge pressure now, India should get a silly point in. Both batters bound to blindly push forward and defend now. And a silly mid off even.

63-5 (17.1)SOUTH AFRICA LOSES FIFTH WICKET: BOWLED! The woodwork has been unsettled by Rajeshwari Gayakwad . Laura Goodall goes for 6(11). South Africa needs to rethink its strategy. It has the overs. It can afford to take it a little slower than it is. Kapp, star of the first innings and Luus batting now. Can they take the Proteas through? Lara Goodall b Rajeshwari Gayakwad 6(11) Ashwin says it's pad first for him. We here in the newsroom it looked like bat first. Eitherway, the argument is inconsequential as the wicket has been claimed nevertheless. Two new batters at the crease. Proteas have taken the pedal off the gas. Now is the time to steady the ship first. 54-4 (13.3) OH WAIT. ANOTHER ONE! A half-hearted appeal for LBW from the wicketkeeper is enough to convince the umpire as the fingers goes up, sending Wolvaardt back. This brings skipper Luus into the scheme of things. I don't know about you, I don't think that was out. It looked like it was bat first to me. The replays are on furiously now. Wolvaardt lbw b Rajeshwari Gayakwad 23(27) 50-3 (12.6) WICKET NUMBER THREE FALLS. I ask Ashwin if we are jinxing this match, because it's hardly been a minute since we discussed the graceful shots on show from her that she has been sent back to the pavilion by Deepti Sharma who reacts quickly to dismiss the batter. Incredibly hard to predict the flow of this game, says Ashwin. And he's right. One minute the boundaries are breached, next minute the crease. du Preez c and b Deepti Sharma 10(20)

Ashwin reports: Mignon begins to attack after a quiet start. South Africa needs a quick 50-run partnership to put the match to bed

 

31-2 (7.4)And, as we speak, South Africa has lost its second wicket. Trisha Chetty didn't quite get the timing of that right. Deepti Sharma did a clean job of an easy catch. du Preez walks in to take charge. Trisha Chetty c Deepti Sharma b Ekta Bisht 7 (16) In between the updates, Ashwin also tells us that the stadium has quite a few children in the crowd who are enjoying the game. The atmosphere is lively, a welcome change from the morning. I personally love the idea of taking kids to see the women's game too! Lovely batting from South Africa to complement the experience as well.

Wolvaardt and Chetty are at ease here. The boundaries are consistent. It's a carefree game being played out here and the crowds in Vadodara seem to be lapping it all up.

Ashwin reports: South African hopes of a quick start dashed with the dismissal of hard hitting opener Lee. With Trisha and Laura at the crease, can expect a lot of grafting and nudging from here on.

India will pile on the pressure, while South Africa will look to survive and avoid any more damage

STAT: South Africa is currently scoring at a rate of 3.86 runs per over. They need to be scoring at a rate of 2.85. #Comfort 17-1 (3.3) Lizelle Lee walks back to the pavilion after holing out a Mansi Joshi delivery to Taniya Bhatia. Trisha Chetty is the new batter. Lizelle Lee c Bhatia b Joshi 13 (18)Proteas lose a wicket! Oh but India is not going to let South Africa go on in peace are they! The Blues have claimed their first wicket and the celebration is thunderous.

Paced yet confident start from the ladies in green. 12-0 in 2.2 overs. At this stage, India had already lost its openers earlier in the day.

Shikha Pandey will begin proceedings in the absence of Jhulan Goswami. Pandey came good with the bat today on a day the batting order collapsed like nine pins. Her 35 (50) helped steady the innings with Harmanpreet Kaur. Welcome back to LIVE action, everybody. We hope you had something to eat and drink. Personally hoping that this will be a shorter, less testing session, but more than anything else, hoping for a good fight from the Women in Blue.  

South African Innings | Proteas need 147 to win

Stay with us. LIVE updates will be back soon. Meanwhile, if you, like us, are watching this game, make sure you tweet out to Sportstar or to me and let us know what you think of the game. Until then, I am going to take a breather. See you in a few minutes. So folks. We have had a rather dull morning of cricket here in Vadodara. If you're a South African fan, you will vehemently disagree and rightly so. It's been a field day for the bowlers today. Marizanne Kapp led the pack with three brilliant wickets, even directing bowlers to go with a certain length and line towards the end of the Indian innings. Shabnim Ismail and Ayabonga Khaka chipped in with a pair of wickets each to ensure India never really had a chance to get going at all in this third ODI.

South Africa needs 147 runs to win this ODI. While it makes no difference to the series result, this is a win the Proteas will not want to throw away, especially considering the success the bowlers have had in the first innings.

INNINGS BREAK AND LUNCH

 

Ashwin reports : Lee with her third fantastic catch of the day. Sticks her hand way above her head, takes a one-handed blinder at point.

There it is! The South Africans heard me, I presume. Khaka does the honours. Mansi Joshi holes out a Shangase delivery to Khaka to bring the curtains down on a frustrating batting innings. Much to think and strategise for in the Indian camp. Can the bowlers defend this total? South Africa will walk out to bat in a bit. We'll find out then. Mansi Joshi c Ayabonga Khaka b Nondumiso Shangase 12(20) 142-9 (44.4) Khaka takes out Bisht. Lee registers another catch to her name. South Africa will look to wind this up in the next few balls. India will want that token 150. Ekta Bisht c Lee b Ayabonga Khaka 6(9)

I have to admit, the pace of this game is excruciatingly slow. India's lack of a fight doesn't help them either. AND WITH THAT THE NINTH WICKET HAS FALLEN. Lord. 133-8 (42.2) Okay. Now this jinx is on Ashwin. I press publish and Shikha departs. She flicks the ball to the leg side down by the umpire but she forgets there are folders along there. Shikha Pandey c Ayabonga Khaka b Sekhukhune 35(40)

Ashwin reports:Marizanne taking charge here. Pumped up after Cleaning up Harmanpreet, and now she's in the ear of the captain and the bowlers. Giving them advice on what to do. Proper fighting cricketer  Marizanne

India has six overs left from part timers Luus and Shangase. If they play out the next few overs carefully, they can get big runs

Shikha Pandey is now doing what the top and middle order should have done. Confident shots, a few beautiful boundaries here and there and this number nine batter is teaching the specialists how it's done. 34 runs from 33 balls so far for Pandey.

India 131/7 (41) 120-7 (38.5 overs) Kapp makes no mistake in sending the biggest threat facing the Proteas back in. She was just getting started. Heartbreaking, yet true. I jinxed it. Harmanpreet departs.  Final nail in the coffin here for India?

Harmanpreet has a confidence about playing on the front foot, a confidence that has payed off. Her footwork is better and there is some sensible cricketer on display here finally. And now, India has managed to stitch together 100 runs and scurry past the three-digit mark.

Here's a breakdown of the Indian innings so far : We've had nine boundaries, no sixes, eight maiden overs and six wickets have fallen Coming next in the Indian batting order: Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Mansi Joshi Kapp is having a word with Luus about how wide her deliveries are. The skipper seems eager to learn. The Proteas are just having fun at this point. The heat and humidity is definitely not helping our correspondent Ashwin Achal to power through a disappointing Indian batting show. The newsroom is now calculating its guesses for the time left for this innings to fold now. What do you think? Hit us up on Twitter and let us know!

Ashwin reports: Leg spinner Sune Luus is a strange bowler. She is sure to bowl two-three rubbish long hops or full tosses per over, but that makes her good balls all the more dangerous. Quite unpredictable, so tough to prepare for such bowlers.

71-2 (29.2) The South African captain comes on to bowl and is immediately effective. Harmanpreet loses another compatriot. Taniya Bhatiya gone for 6 (24). Beautiful delivery travels straight to the stumps to send Bhatiya packing. Let's talk numbers. What can we expect India's total to be? Broadcasters seem to have given up hopes of a double hundred, pitching their guesses at 150-160. India needs a partnership and it needs one NOW to make even that possible. Meanwhile, back in Vadodara, Harmanpreet is playing the caution game. This is not her style and she is visible uncomfortable with not playing a free game. It's a slow Monday morning this week. The pace of the game is all over the place, with the Indians struggling with a abysmally slow start generously sprinkled with maiden overs while South Africa is trying its best to bulldoze the Indian batting order. October has been an interesting month for Sport worldwide and much has been happening across the world across a variety of disciplines. Here's a quick recap of all the sporting action you may have missed this past week.

 

Ashwin reports: Fantastic catch by Lee at gully once again. Thick edge from Deepti, ball flies to her left, but Lee manages to get both hands to it and hold on cleanly

55-4 (22.1) I stepped out to collect my breakfast. I walk in and Deepti probably realises she wants to get back and relax too. India loses its fifth wicket with a paltry 55 runs on board. Lee is there to do the honours. Ismail's smile is back again. Deepti Sharma c Lee b S Ismail 7 (18)

39-4 (16.3) My, oh my. There goes wicket number 4. We spoke too soon. Mithali and Harmanpreet walk out post drinks and Mithali walks back almost immediately after. It understandably gets a little vexing when good shots find fielders while other balls don't let you have a good at shots altogether. Mithali seems to have had a break in concentration and it has come with a price. An attempt to loft Kapp only finds the fielder. Mithali walks back in while Deepti Sharma walks out to replace her. Mithali Raj c S Ismail b Kapp 11 (46) Drinks now. India stands at 39/3 (16.0). A run rate of 2.44. Absolutely not what the women in blue would have wanted when they started their day. Mithali and Harmanpreet are on strike and have a job to do, a competitive total to build. Will they be able to? We'll know in just a few minutes. Talking points:

- Discipline from the Proteas: simple textbook line and length helping the bowlers - Openers fail: India lost its first two wickets in its first two overs. Couple of loose shots and a misjudgement of line has not helped India get going.  

Ashwin reports: Broadcaster keeps showing the Mithali leg-before shout, and it looks out every time. Reminded of a WG Grace story, when he refused to leave the crease despite being clearly out. "Spectators are here to watch me bat, not to see you bowl," Grace is believed to have said. Not that Mithali had any say in this decision, of course.

It's a quiet Monday morning here in the office and my colleague Ayan Acharya , who will be covering the third Test between the Indian and South African men in Ranchi is intrigued by Ayabonga Khaka. South Africa's female Rabada - he says. That's one way to put it for familiarity. But this is a disciplined bowler we are seeing today who is doing the basics right and reaping the rewards.

Ashwin reports: Shocking hoick by Punam to a dead straight delivery from Khaka. Complete miss, ball smashes into middle. Ugly batting

23-3 (11.5) Third wicket down for India. Poonam Raut Right to the middle stump that one. What lovely line and length from Khaka. The frustration got to Raut. A few irresponsible shots over the last couple of balls were all leading up to this. Missed that one completely from Khaka and her stumps are disarray. 13 balls now since India has made a run. Poonam Raut b Ayabonga Khaka 15 (33) India 23-2 in 10 overs: South Africa's pace has been impressive, and I am not talking about the bowling. India has slowed down trying to steady ship and South Africa is trying to get as many overs as possible done during this phase to ensure minimal damage to that scoreboard. Disciplined bowling, smart choices.

Ashwin reports: Mithali survives a leg-before shout on 3. Marizanne gets in to come in from outside off, strikes Mithali in front of middle. Umpire reckons it swung too much, but it looks out. Marizanne is justifiably unhappy. That would have been a huge wicket

STAT: The average first innings score at this venue is 260. Do you think India can get there? Let us know what you make of India's start this morning. Tweet to us at @Sportstarweb . FIVE OVERS UP AND THE PROTEAS ARE IN CONTROL. Shabnim rounds off the first five with a maiden over. Smiles for the women in green. Work to do for the Indian women.

Having Mithali Raj out there is comforting in that she knows how to pace her innings. We wonder how different things would have been with the likes of one of the openers still going but the priority now is to just steady the Indian innings and then takes things from there. South Africa is off to a good start this morning. Job well done, Shabnim and Marizanne!

Ashwin reports: Form batter Jemimah falls to a beauty from Marizanne. Pitched up, on middle, moves away, and gets a leading edge. Lee takes a superb low catch at gully.

PITCH ASSESSMENT : Dry wicket here, with very visible cracks along the landscape. Barely any grass. There was quite a bit of dew early on so there is a degree of moisture here on this track.  We presume the seamers will enjoy this track. 5-2 (1.6) Oh no.That's wicket number 2! Jemimah Rodrigues is not going to get away with that one.  Lizelle Lee at gully is waiting there to take that catch. Both openers are back in the hut. India in all kinds of trouble here. In walks Mithali Raj. It's time for some damage control. Jemimah Rodrigues c Lee b Kapp 3 (3)

Ashwin reports: Shabnim gets Priya with a short ball. Priya gets into a awkward position to pull, and gets a top edge to the keeper. Way too late on the ball, and horribly off balance

Priya Punia's struggles with short pitched deliveries continue. Shabnim is happy. There is a wide smile there. Just one run and a wicket to boot in that first over. 1-1 (0.4) OHH TAKEN! Shabnim bowls a short one and outsmarts Priya Punia. Gone for a duck. That was an awkward pull and wicketkeeper Trisha Chetty makes no mistake. Punam Raut comes in to take her place. Priya Punia  c T Chetty b S Ismail 0 (4) 08:59Jemimah Rodrigues and Priya Punia have walked out to open the Indian innings today in Vadodara.  Shabnim Ismail will begin for South Africa. This may be a dead rubber encounter, but South Africa has pride to play for. Our correspondent Ashwin Achal is covering the game for us in Vadodara. We will hear from him from time to time today. If you're watching the game at the Reliance Stadium and have something to say about the game, ping us or Ashwin on Twitter.  

Indian Innings

TOSS UPDATE: India Women have won the toss and elected to bat.

India Women (Playing XI): Priya Punia, Jemimah Rodrigues, Punam Raut, Mithali Raj(c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia(w), Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Mansi Joshi

South Africa Women (Playing XI): Lizelle Lee, Laura Wolvaardt, Trisha Chetty(w), Mignon du Preez, Lara Goodall, Sune Luus(c), Marizanne Kapp, Shabnim Ismail, Nondumiso Shangase, Tumi Sekhukhune, Ayabonga Khaka

PREVIEW:

India has already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and South Africa would want to claim a win to salvage some pride.

However, the Indian Women's cricket team had completed its highest successful ODI run chase in the second game on October 11 and would be raring to complete the whitewash.

South Africa's Laura Woolvardt is the leading run-scorer of the series with 108 runs, while India's bowling trio of Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht and Poonam Yadav have four wickets each.

Here's how the second ODI panned out:

ndia survived a few late nerves to record a five-wicket victory over South Africa in the second women’s ODI, at Reliance Cricket Ground here on Friday.

Chasing a stiff 248-run target, the home team was cruising with  Mithali Raj  (66, 82b, 4x8) and  Punam Raut  (65, 92b, 7x4) at the crease, until the duo fell within the space of four balls. From a comfortable 195 for two, India slipped and let South Africa back into the contest.  Harmanpreet Kaur  (39 n.o., 27b, 5x4, 1x6), however, came in and blasted her team past the finish line with 12 deliveries to spare.

AS IT HAPPENED

The exciting win gave India an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. It marked the nation’s highest-ever successful ODI chase, bettering the previous target of 245 (against South Africa in February 2017).

Solid foundation

Mithali and Punam laid a solid foundation, putting on 129 runs for the third wicket. They dispatched the loose stuff to the boundary, and ran briskly between the wickets. Mithali reached her 53rd ODI fifty with a single to long-on, but with no scoreboard at the ground, she did not realise that she had reached the milestone. She later got the message, and raised her bat to acknowledge the crowd. Punam was a tad more cautious than Mithali, but just as effective. Both Mithali and Punam eventually fell to poor shot selection, with Mithali slashing hard outside off and Punam attempting a dangerous scoop.

The home team was helped by some wayward bowling from South Africa, which sent down no less than 29 wides.

Half-century for Wolvaart

After being put in to bat, South Africa put up a much improved show as compared to its previous game to post a good score. Openers Lizelle Lee (40, 54b) and Laura Wolvaardt (69, 98b) were in fine touch during their 76-run partnership.  Mignon du Preez  (44, 48b, 2x4, 1x6) and southpaw Lara Goodall (38, 32b, 5x4) attacked in the middle and late overs, keeping the score moving at a healthy rate.

Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht and Poonam Yadav picked up two wickets each.

The match was briefly halted when a playful dog ran on to the field during the Indian innings. Several ground security officials rushed to catch the intruder, but the dog was much too quick for them. After hanging out near the boundary rope for a short while, the dog made its way out of the open gate door to huge applause from the amused crowd.

 247 for 6 in 50 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 69, Mignon du Preez 44, Lizelle Lee 40) lost to   248 for 5 in 48 overs (Mithali Raj 66, Punam Raut 65, Ayabonga 3 for 69) by five wickets.

Where to watch?

The match will be telecast on on Star Sports 3 and Star Sports 3 HD . You can also watch the live streaming on Hotstar .