India Women vs South Africa Women | India win series as captain Mithali Raj and Punam Raut pull off record run-chase
After going one up in the one-day series, India Women pulled off their highest run-chase in ODI cricket against South Women to win the second match by five wickets. Captain Mithali Raj won the toss and elected to field first at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara. Harmanpreet Kaur scored an unbeaten 39 runs off 27 deliveries to take an unassailable 2-0 lead against South Africa.
Batting first, most of the batters got starts but couldn't convert it into big scores. Opener Laura Wolvaardt top-scored with 69 runs off 98 balls to set a perfect platform for the incoming batters to score big. South Africa got off to a good start and lost their first wicket as late as the 16th over, adding 76 runs for the first wicket. For India, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht took two wickets each while Jhulan Goswami remained wicketless in her full quota of 10 overs.
Set a target of 248 runs, Punam Raut, Mithali Raj, and Harmanpreet Kaur helped India cross the finish line. Punam Raut and Mithali Raj staged a 129-run partnership to take India close to the finish line. Both scored their respective half-centuries but lost their wicket in a space of four balls with India still needing 52 runs off 59 balls. Star striker Harmanpreet Kaur, who didn't get to bat in the first match, came in all gun blazing as she hit five fours and a six to score at a strike-rate of more than 140. For South Africa, Ayabonga Khaka took three wickets but ended up giving 69 runs in her ten overs.
Mithali Raj, playing her 205th one-day match for India, scored her 53rd fifty in one-day cricket. Star of the first match Priya Punia, could only score 20 runs off 42 balls, hitting three boundaries in the process. Fellow opener Jemimah Rodrigues also looked good for her 18 runs off 24 deliveries, which included four hits. Jemimah Rodrigues got out to Ayabonga Khaka, who took a catch off her own bowling to give South Africa a good start. Punam Raut was picked as the player of the match for her 65 runs off 92 deliveries that included seven fours.
The last match is scheduled to be played on 14th October at the same venue.
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