CHENNAI: South Africa were running away with the chase halfway through the innings at 133 for one. Laura Wolvaardt was batting at 76 from 73 balls while Goodall was batting at 46. India looked out of depth to make any sort of inroad. Out of desperation more than anything else, Mithali Raj brought Harmanpreet into the attack.
It was her first over in the World Cup. She bowled a few in the New Zealand series but hadn’t sent down any in the global event. And on the very first delivery, she turned the ball across Wolvaardt, taking her by surprise. It was a quiet over with just four runs conceded. But more than anything else, seeds of doubts were sowed in the batters’ minds, especially the left-handed Goodall.
Rajeshwari Gayakwad came back to exploit the spin that was on offer. She was tossing it up, bowling slower through the air to extract as much turn as possible. And it took four balls to deceive Goodall and send her back to the dressing room for 49. There was this newfound energy on the field among the Indian team.
It only got better when Harmanpreet bowled Wolvaardt through the gates with a sharp off-spinner. She was elated and so was the entire team. Suddenly, with both set batters dismissed India were back in the game. The duo bowled in tandem for a while, trying to tighten the screws.
But Sune Luus and Mignon du Preez started milking them and as a result, Meghna Singh and Sneh Rana were brought back briefly before Mithali turned back to Harmanpreet. South Africa needed 93 runs from 14 overs. Luus was on strike. Harmanpreet, once again, tossed it up outside the off-stump, Lulus played across the line and was trapped on the pads.
Harmanpreet was so confident that she urged MIthali to send it for a review and the decision was overturned. From 139 for one, South Africa went to 182 for four. But they had Marizanne Kapp and du Preez in the middle. The experienced duo kept the chase going with singles and doubles.
It looked like things could go very wrong as a series of misfields and a dropped catch followed, but Harmanpreet, yet again, delivered with a sharp throw to run out Kapp. South Africa needed 45 runs from 30 balls. Chloe Tryon hit a flurry of boundaries, but Gayakwad came back to dismiss her. Seven was needed of the last over. Every ball was an event. Match went to the ball, but du Preez kept her cool and took South Africa home by three wickets.
Earlier, with Jhulan Goswami missing out due to a side strain, India had no choice but to start with Meghna Singh and a spinner from the other end. Deepti Sharma and Meghna started well, keeping it tight against the aggressive Lizelle Lee. Although they didn’t have an inswinger to trouble Lee, a direct hit from Harmanpreet meant that she was back in the pavilion in the powerplay.
Wolvaardt and Goodall took their time, but the former, while doing so, kept punishing every bad delivery for a boundary. That Indian pacers and spinners bowled to her strength, full and wide outside off, or short-pitched deliveries. The 22-year-old made the most of every mistake, cruising to yet another half-century in the tournament.
Although Goodall struggled to score freely, India did not trouble her enough with the ball as the southpaw scrapped her way to the 40s. That Wolvaardt was batting gloriously at the other end meant Goodall did not have to worry about the required run rate. That’s when Mithali brought in Harmanpreet, and shortly after South Africa lost both their set batters in quick succession.
Having opted to bat first, India got off to a flier, thanks to Shafali Verma, who took the attack to the South African pacers in the powerplay. Verma took a liking to the fastest of them all, Shabnim Ismail, smashing 17 runs off her second over. The extra-cover drives, the backfoot guides between point and gully, the shuffle across and scoops were put on display against the quickest pacer in the world.
Although Smriti Mandhana was struggling to find the gaps and was hitting straight to the fielders, Verma kept it going for them with regular boundaries. India went past the 50-run mark in no time with Verma scoring her half-century in 40 balls. When it seemed like they are primed for a big score, a mix-up in the middle meant that Verma had to take the long walk back. Yastika also did not last long as they were down to 96 for two after 17 overs.
Mithali and Mandhana took their time to get settled, but it was the southpaw who put pressure on the bowler after building a partnership. She brought up her half-century in 69 balls and when Marizanne Kapp came on for her second spell, Mandhana took her for a ride. Mithali, at the other end, was holding forte and was trying to get through the testing spell of Ismail.
Once the left-hander got out for 71 runs from 84 balls, Mithali took it upon herself to keep the scorecard moving. She picked ou Chloe Tryon, placed the bowlers through gaps, took calculated risks, moving from 26 off 50 to 50 from 69. Harmanpreet Kaur, at the other end, too, picked up the occasional boundaries, building a partnership.
But Mithali got out soon and South African pacers came back stronger with the variations and off-cutters. The Indian lower-order struggled to get going in the death overs, adding just 51 runs in the last ten overs. They finished with 274 for seven in 50 overs.
Brief scores: India 274/7 in 50 ovs (Mandhana 71, Klass 2/38) lost to South Africa 275/7 in 50 ovs (Wolvaardt 80, Harmanpreet 2/42)