IND VS SA: India beat South Africa in last-over thriller, clinch ODI series

Bengaluru: Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana slammed a century each and pacer Pooja Vastrakar bowled a superb final over as India Women defeated South Africa by four runs in a well-fought second One-day International that ended in a thriller and gave India an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday.

Mandhana struck a 120-ball 136, a century in her second successive match, and shared a 171-run partnership for the third wicket with Harmanpreet Kaur, who hammered an unbeaten 103 off 88 balls as India posted a massive 325/3 in 50 overs. Opener Shafali Verma (20), Dayalan Hemalatha (24) and Richa Ghosh (25 not out) were the other scorers for India as they made the most of the opportunity after being asked to bat first by South Africa.

South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt scored a run-a-ball 135 while Marizanne Kapp blasted a 94-ball 114 to keep South Africa in the hunt. But the visitors lost the way in the last couple of overs and were restricted to 321/6 in 50 overs as India won the match which is part of the ICC Women's Championship.

South Africa were struggling at 67/3 at one stage before Kapp and Wolvaardt shared a superb partnership to not only revive the innings but also raise hopes of a victory in the high-scoring slugfest.

Earlier, opener Mandhana etched her name in the annals of women's cricket history by equaling former captain Mithali Raj's all-time Indian record for the most centuries in women's ODIs. Mandhana's brilliant knock of 136 runs brought her level with the legendary Raj.

Brief Score: India Women 325/3 in 50 overs (Mandhana 136, Kaur 103 not out; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-51) beat South Africa 321/6 off 50 overs (Wolvaardt 135, Kapp 114; Vastrakar 2-54, Deepti Sharma 2-56) by four runs. IANS

Also Read: 1st ODI: Smriti Mandhana ton, spinners shine as India crush South Africa

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