The Indian women’s cricket team will return from its tour of South Africa without losing a single series after the fourth T20 International was abandoned due to rain, giving Harmanpreet Kaur’s team an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the five-match contest.
The South Africans, put to bat, were 130 for three from 15.3 overs when the heavens opened up to halt the proceedings at SuperSport Park.
After a wait of nearly two hours, the umpires decided to abandon the match. The fifth and final T20 International will be played in Cape Town on February 24.
A win in Cape Town will make Harmanpreet Kaur’s team the first to have won two series on a single tour of South Africa. It will also be a huge milestone after having won the T20 series in Australia.
During the 15.3 overs of play, Lizelle Lee (58 not out) and Dane van Niekerk (55) hit half centuries while off-spinner Deepti Sharma was the pick of Indian bowlers with figures of two for 33. Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav took the other wicket.
Today’s abandonment of the match meant that the Indian women will not lose a series in this South Africa tour as the visitors had clinched the preceding three-match ODI series 2-1.
The Indian team was aiming for a quick recovery from a rare setback in the third T20I.
After convincing victories — by seven and nine wickets respectively — in the first two games, India allowed South Africa to stay alive in the series by slumping to a five-wicket loss against the host in the third match on February 18.
