Deepti’s 3/8 wrecks SA, India win by 11 runs

Surat, September 24

Off-spinner Deepti Sharma bowled three maiden overs in her quota of four overs, apart from taking three wickets, as the Indian women’s team survived a Mignon du Preez blitz to eke out a 11-run win over South Africa in their first T20I.

Put in to bat, the Indian middle-order struggled to convert starts on a slow pitch, settling for a modest 130/8. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur top-scored with a 34-ball 43, her innings laced with three fours and two sixes. The Indian spinners exploited the favourable conditions to make it tough for the visitors, who were bowled out for 119 with one ball left. Apart from Deepti (3/8), left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, leg-break bowler Poonam Yadav and pacer Shikha Pandey took two wickets apiece.

Du Preez took the fight to the Indian camp with her gritty 59-run knock but could not take her side past the finish line. South Africa were reeling at 65/6 at one stage but du Preez infused life into their chase with her attacking knock, which came off 43 balls with four shots to the fence and three over it. 

Medium-pacer Shikha Pandey cleaned up Ayabonga Khaka in the 18th over, in which she conceded just one run. After that, Deepti conceded eight runs from the 19th over, leaving South Africa to score 18 from six balls. Du Preez began with an inside-out six off left-arm spinner Radha Yadav but was stumped in the fourth ball.

Shafali out for a duck

Earlier, 15-year-old Shafali Verma of Rohtak was dismissed for a four-ball duck on her much-anticipated debut. She was caught off pacer Shabnim Ismail (3/26), who emerged as the most successful bowler for the visitors with a three-wicket haul. 

A 46-run stand between Harmanpreet and Deepti Sharma (16) seemed to revive India’s innings but medium-pacer Nadine de Klerk (2/10) removed both of them in a space of three balls to deny the home team a flourishing finish. 

Brief Scores: India: 130/8 in 20 overs (H Kaur 43, S Mandhana 21; S Ismail 3/26); South Africa: 119 all out in 19.5 overs (M du Preez 59, L Lee 16; D Sharma 3/8, S Pandey 2/18). — PTI