(Cricket news) India women lost the T20 tri series final against South Africa by 5 wickets. India up until the final had a very good series but in the final things went wrong and South Africa took full advantage of it. The women in blues’ tendency to fail in big games continues as they will go into the World Cup to try to change that. India women made a big change as Sneh Rana came in for Shikha Pandey meaning India went with only two seamers. South Africa on the other hand took a surprising decision as they dropped key all-rounder Marizanne Kapp. Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat first.
The wicket was pretty slow and had uneven bounce which made it difficult for batters to play spin. Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues were dismissed very cheaply. Harleen Deol and Harmanpreet Kaur steadied the ship for a while but runs were not coming at a brisk rate. The Indian skipper was dismissed before she could do much damage. Harleen Deol was also dismissed after scoring 46 off 56 balls which wasn’t ideal as India had a very deep batting line-up. The entire innings consisted of only 9 fours as the Proteas bowled magnificently. India women could only manage 109/4 in 20 overs.
With a small total to defend India women did get off to a good start as Harmanpreet Kaur introduced spin at both ends. South Africa were 21/3 inside 7 overs which made the match interesting. Things were changed by Chloe Tyron who smashed 57 off just 32 balls. She was the player of the match as she dominated the bowlers on a pitch where batting was hard work. India did bowl well but the target was too short to defend. Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Renuka Singh Thakur picked up a scalp each while Sneh Rana got two wickets.
India’s tactics going into the series were bizzare. The series was a dress rehearsal for the World Cup and it should’ve been used to try out a different style of play which didn’t happen. Looking at the final Sneh Rana who isn’t in the World Cup squad was selected in the XI ahead of Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey and Anjali Sarvani who are all a part of that squad. India women will be boosted by the return of Under 19 World Cup winning captain and deputy in Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh but the women in blue are certainly not favourites.
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