IND-W vs SA-W highlights, Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Warm-up: India beats South Africa by 28 runs

A good outing for India in Dubai. Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma gave India a big boost in the final half of the innings. Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana set a decent platform for India after two early wickets. For South Africa, Khaka picked five wickets including three in the final over of the innings. SA will be happy with her performance. 

India’s bowling once again was brilliant. Asha Sobhana gave timely breakthroughs in the middle and the rest kept it tight from their end. 

Shreyanka Patil for the final over. Dercksen smacks the ball towards long on for four. And she ends the over with a four as well but India has won the match by 28 runs. Superb win for India. 

Renuka Thakur is called in to bowl the penultimate over and she does very well to just concede two runs. South Africa now requires 41 off final six balls. 

Radha Yadav is quickly going through her overs, keeping the lines tight. She almost Annerie Dercksen out but Jemimah couldn’t hold on to the catch. Just four runs from the over. 

“A few blips while taking catches under the lights particularly for Team India. Jemi dropped a sitter at extra cover and has been a bit glum since. She did take a lovely catch to dismiss Chloe Tryon,” Lavanya with the details regarding the dropped catch. 

Now Shafali Varma is getting to roll her arm. Tryon continues her onslaught as she sweeps the ball towards square leg for four. Now, Annerie Dercksen hits the ball towards cover and gets another four. OUT! Tryon is out. Shafali picks the big wicket of Tryon! Sweeps the ball straight deep square leg fielder. Tryon is out for 24. 

Radha Yadav gets to bowl now. Starts off well but Tryon finds a boundary off her fifth delivery as he smacks the ball straight past the bowler. Seven runs came in that over. 

After two quiet overs, Nadine de Klerk tries to charge new bowler Harmanpreet Kaur but ends up getting a top edge straight to short fine leg fielder. Terrific bowling by Indians yet again.

Chloe Tryon gets her first boundary off the innings off Sobhana. Slogs towards fine leg boundary. OUT! Sune Luus is gone for three off seven balls. Another shot that goes straight into the hands of long on fielder. Seven runs and a wicket in that over. 

Shreyanka Patil is into the attack after drinks and immediately strikes with a big wicket of Wolvaardt! Cleans up the South African opener. The ball deflected off the pads. Wolvaardt goes after scoring 29 off 26 balls. Five off the over and a big wicket. 

Deepti Sharma strikes in her second over. Anneke Bosch depart for three off eight deliveries. Three dot balls in the build up to that dismissal. Maiden wicket for Deepti. Second maiden over in this innings. 

Sobhana continues. Fifty-up for South Africa Wolvaardt sweeps towards square leg to get a boundary. Four singles in that over as well. 

Vastrakar is back into the attack. Wolvaardt makes room and hits the ball towards cover and runs three. Four! The SA opener now guides the ball towards deep third. 10 runs came in that over. 

Asha Sobhana is welcomed into the attack by Tazmin Britz with a boundary as she plays an inside out over the off side. OUT! Sobhana though has the last laugh as Britz is caught off the fifth ball at long on trying to loft the ball. She falls for 22 off 25 balls. Seven runs and a wicket in that over. 

Deepti Sharma into the attack. Terrific over so far, just one of it with one more ball to go. Single off the last ball. Just two runs from the last over of the PowerPlay. 

Wolvaardt begins Renuka’s third over with a four! Slaps the ball past mid off fielder. Wolvaardt plays the ball towards midwicket and gets three. Tazmin ends the over with a boundary towards cover. 13 in that over. 

Arundhati Reddy into the attack. Wolvaardt hasn’t opened her account, having already played seven deliveries. There she goes. She’s finally off the mark, gets a boundary towards midwicket. Six runs came in that over. 

Renuka Singh continues to keep the lines tight. Getting a hint of swing as well. Just one run from the over. 

Tazmin Britz gets South Africa’s chase going with a four off the 10th ball of the innings. She hits back-to-back boundaries off Pooja Vastrakar. First boundary, a square drive and then gets a four towards square leg boundary. 

Renuka Singh Thakur begins India’s defence with a maiden over! Length ball and hint of swing to keep Laura Wolvaardt quiet. 

Ayabonga Khaka for the final over. OUT! Richa Ghosh has to go. She scores a brilliant 36 off 25 balls. Three wickets for Khaka as well. Richa mistimes her slog and is caught at long on. 

Pooja Vastrakar takes a double off her first ball. She’s out though off her second. 

Shreyanka Patil is out off the first ball! Five wickets for Khaka!

Arundhati Reddy comes to play the hat-trick ball and instead hits a four towards fine leg. A single off the final takes India to 144/7. Three wickets in that over. 

Tumi Sekhukhune for the penultimate over. Richa Ghosh smacks back-to-back boundaries! Executes a scoop first before slogging the ball away towards midwicket for four. And Deepti ends the over with a boundary towards midwicket. Slogged away. 16 in that over! 

How many can India score in the final three overs? 

Chloe Tryon is back and Deepti runs a double off the first two deliveries. Seven runs in that over as well. 

Nadine de Klerk keeps it tight; and Richa and Deepti have to rely on running between the wickets in this over. A pause in the game as de Klerk gets some medical treatment. Five runs came in that over. 

“Nice strokeplay from Richa. Mainly targeting straight down the bowlers end and long on,” pings Lavanya from the venue in Dubai. 

Just as she says it, Richa smacks a six over long on off Khaka, who is back into the attack her third over. 100-up for India as well with that shot. 12 runs came in that over. 

Now Deepti Sharma gets into the act as she slashes the ball towards deep third for four off Annerie Dercksen. Singles are coming and India is keeping the board running. Seven runs from the over. 

Richa hits India’s first six of the innings off Nonkululeko Mlaba. A slog sweep over deep square leg boundary. 

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Laura Wolvaardt is mixing her bowlers well. Sune Luus is back into the attack. Indians are dealing in singles and doubles to keep the scoreboard ticking. 

Nonkululeko Mlaba is done with her third over. Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh are at the crease, pushing and running for singles. 

Annerie Dercksen for her first over today. Jemimah is dropped off the third ball of the over at fine leg. However, Dercksen gets her out two balls later! Jemimah looks to loft the ball but is caught at the deep midwicket. She’s out after scoring 30 off 26 balls. 

Nadine de Klerk is into the attack. A rather quiet over. Richa Ghosh has joined Jemimah at the crease. 

Nonkululeko Mlaba. Jemimah continues to find boundaries. This time she plays the sweep well gets the ball to the square leg boundary. Mlaba though finished the over well with a wicket of Smriti! Mandhana is caught. She falls for 21 off 22 balls. Mandhana played a slog but couldn’t find enough timing and was caught at deep mid-wicket. 

Sune Luus is introduced now. Fifty comes up for India with a boundary off Jemimah’s bat as she beats the point fielder once again. 

Nonkululeko Mlaba into the attack. Smriti gets back-to-back boundaries! She first guides the ball between the point and short third fielder and then she plays an inside out past cover. Jemimah too joins the party as she ends the over with a four towards point. 14 came in that over. 

So, South Africa gave Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe Tryon, and Ayabonga Khaka two overs each in the PowerPlay. A good start for South Africa removing Shafali Varma and Harmanpreet Kaur cheaply. Just 29 runs in the first six overs. 

Jemimah joins Smriti at the crease. Chloe Tryon for her second over. Six runs came in that over with the Indian duo running hard between the wickets. 

Khaka is back; and she gets Harmanpreet off the first ball of the over. Harmanpreet is too early for the drive and ends up chipping it straight to the cover fielder. 

Three overs and three different bowlers to start with for South Africa. Tumi Sekhukhune is bowling the third over. Harmanpreet gets India’s first boundary as she flicks the ball towards fine leg for four. 

India begins slow after that early jolt of Shafali. Two overs gone and no boundary yet. 

Shafali Varma is out for a two-ball duck! Ayabonga Khaka with the wicket as she cleans up the Indian opener in the first over itself. Two runs came in that over with Harmanpreet Kaur, no.3, and Smriti Mandhana at crease. 

When India played England and Australia last winter, head coach Amol Muzumdar, fresh in the role, saw the potential for Richa beyond her finishing capability. He envisioned her as a more versatile player and gave her the number 3 slot in ODIs, hoping she could build larger and more impactful innings.

Here’s more about Richa Ghosh and her learning the finisher’s role on the job

Richa Ghosh Interview: India’s Rising Finisher Eyes Glory at the Women’s T20 World Cup - Sportstar

On the brink of turning 21, Richa is already one of India’s trump cards ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates — evidence of her immense talent and meteoric rise.

South Africa Women - Anneke Bosch, Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Mieke De Ridder, Sinalo Jafta (WK), Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Annerie Dercksen, Nadine de Klerk, Sune Luus (C), Ayabonga Khaka, Ayanda Hlubi, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune.

India Women - Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Dayalan Hemalatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (WK), Yastika Bhatia, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma, Sajana Sajeevan, Arundhati Reddy, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh Thakur, Shreyanka Patil.

South Africa has won the toss and opts to bowl. 

Want to understand how the tournament will be played? Here’s guide about the format. 

Women’s T20 World Cup tournament format explained

After the 20 group stage matches, the top two teams from each group will then advance to the semifinals which will be played on October 17 and 18 in Dubai and Sharjah respectively.

South Africa lost its first practice game. It played against New Zealand and got bowled out for 92. Out of 10, seven of its wickets fell to spin - something South Africa would want to rectify in today’s game. 

Jemimah Rodrigues’ fifty and a clinical bowling performance were the highlights of India’s first practice game against West Indies. India scored 141/8 and then restricted its opponents to 121/8. 

Did you know this will be the first time top-ranked women’s teams will be playing in Dubai? 

Here’s a bit of the Dubai and Sharjah - the two venues of the World Cup

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The women’s T20 World Cup 2024 matches will be held at Dubai International Cricket Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Stadium - two venues that have only hosted a total of 15 women T20Is so far.

Wondering how all the teams have built up to the tournament? We have got out covered! 

Here’s Lavanya with details about everything you need to know. 

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Preview: Squads analysis, form guide and lowdown on conditions

The upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup has seen contrasting build-ups for the participating teams, with India gearing up to bid for its maiden ICC trophy.

While the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 will be streamed live on the Disney+Hotstar app and website, the warm-up match between India Women and South Africa Women will not be live streamed in India nor it will be on telecast. 

Follow Sportstar to get live updates. 

Welcome to the live coverage of India’s second warm-up match ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. Today the women in blue will take on South Africa in Dubai. Stay tuned for the live updates.