Smriti Mandhana posted an emphatic statement on behalf of the host, as India raced to a nine-wicket victory over South Africa, with more than 21 overs to spare, in the second One-Day International at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium here on Tuesday.
Setting the tempo
The ever smiling and relaxed Smriti, whose classy strokeplay lays stress on timing rather than power, set the tempo for the Indian chase. She pulled and hooked two sixes off Shabnim Ismail in the first over, after South Africa had set a modest target of 158.
Yet, the beauty of the Indian display of authority lay more in the restraint than the free-flowing strokes, as Smriti and opener Punam Raut put on 138 runs for the second wicket, being very judicious with their shot selection. Smriti hit 80 off 64 balls, and had a third off-driven six off Nonkululek Mlaba. It was the 18th half-century for Smriti in her 53rd ODI.
Punam scored 62 off 89 balls, timing her shots to a nicety, in scripting her 14th half-century.
In the morning, Mansi Joshi returned to the team to bowl a key spell when the South African openers, who had put on 169 in the first match, were sent back to the pavilion with just 20 runs on the board.
Jhulan Goswami, who scalped one of the openers, strove hard to bag four wickets. She was denied another, when the TV review revealed it was off a no-ball.
Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad picked up three wickets, while Harmanpreet Kaur served a mighty blow by knocking out the stumps of left-hander Lara Goodall on 49, with her first ball of the only over she bowled. Skipper Sune Luus hung around for 36, but South Africa was unable to post a challenging total.
SCOREBOARD
SOUTH AFRICA Lizelle Lee lbw b Jhulan 4 (6b, 1x4) , Laura Wolvaardt c Sushma b Mansi 9 (13b, 2x4) , Sune Luus c Sushma b Mansi 36 (57b, 5x4) , Lara Goodall b Harmanpreet 49 (77b, 2x4) , Mignon du Preez c Deepti b Rajeshwari 11 (20b, 1x4) , Marizanne Kapp c Deepti b Jhulan 10 (16b, 2x4) , Trisha Chetty c Harmanpreet b Rajeshwari 12 (25b) , Nadine de Klerk b Jhulan 8 (17b, 1x4) , Shabnim Ismail b Jhulan 0 (2b) , Ayabonga Khaka (not out) 5 (13b, 1x4) , Nonkululeko Mlaba c Mithali b Rajeshwari 0 (2b) ; Extras (b-4, lb-1, w-6, nb-2): 13; Total (in 41 overs): 157.
FALL OF WICKETS 1-5 (Lee, 0.6 overs), 2-20 (Wolvaardt, 5.1), 3-80 (Luus, 20.4), 4-99 (du Preez, 25.5), 5-113 (Kapp, 29.1), 6-130 (Goodall, 33.1), 7-144 (de Klerk, 37.3), 8-144 (Shabnim, 37.5), 9-156 (Trisha, 40.1).
INDIA BOWLING Jhulan 10-0-42-4, Mansi 7-1-23-2, Deepti 6-0-20-0, Rajeshwari 9-0-37-3, Poonam 8-0-30-0, Harmanpreet 1-1-0-1.
INDIA Jemimah Rodrigues b Shabnim 8 (19b, 1x4) , Smriti Mandhana (not out) 80 (64b, 10x4, 3x6) , Punam Raut (not out) 62 (89b, 8x4) ; Extras (w-8, nb-1): 9; Total (for one wkt. in 28.4 overs): 159.
FALL OF WICKET 1-21 (Jemimah, 4.1).
SOUTH AFRICA BOWLING Shabnim 6-0-46-1, Kapp 6-1-7-0, Khaka 7-1-23-0, Mlaba 3-0-29-0, Luus 4-0-28-0, de Klerk 2.4-0-26-0.
Toss: India; Player-of-the-match: Jhulan Goswami.
India won by nine wickets with 21.2 overs to spare to level five-match series 1-1.
Third ODI: March 12, 9 a.m.
