Ind vs SA : South Africa women win series 4-1

Mithali Raj played a captain's knock by hitting a well-crafted 79 not out but it was only enough to take India to 188 all out.

Lucknow: South Africa added salt to India’s wounds by registering a five-wicket win over the hosts in the low-scoring fifth and final women’s ODI to seal the series 4-1 here on Wednesday.

Mithali Raj played a captain’s knock by hitting a well-crafted 79 not out but it was only enough to take India to 188 all out. South Africa then rode on Anneke Bosch (58) and Mignon du Preez’s (57) half-centuries to chase down the target in 48.2 overs.

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The series marked India’s return to international cricket after 12 months. They were naturally rusty to start with and by the end of the series, it seemed that they have a lot of work to do if they want to be title contenders for the World Cup early next year.

The batting needs more firepower and bowling concerns too need to be addressed as spinners, traditionally India’s strength, struggled against South Africa.

Coming back after a long break, the India players had only a handful of training sessions ahead of the series as they also had to undergo a mandatory one week quarantine. “Clearly, we do need some camps before series. We were underprepared, coming from a gap. The batting unit tried to improve consistently match by match. Our spinners need to improve,” said Mithali at the post-match presentation.

South Africa’s chase got off to a disastrous start as the visitors lost their top three batters including skipper Sune Luus (10) for just 27 runs. Du Preez (57) and Bosch (58) stabilised South Africa’s run chase with a 96-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Indian bowlers pulled things back, dismissing both the set batters in quick succession.

At that stage South Africa were 131 for five, still needing 58 runs in 13 overs for a win. Marizanne Kapp (36 not out) and Nadine de Klerk (19 not out), however, ensured there was no further hiccups as the duo shared unbeaten 58 runs for the sixth wicket to guide South Africa home.

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