[Watch] India-W off-spinner Deepti Sharma's twin strikes dent South Africa's progress in 3rd ODI
India women's team off-spinner Deepti Sharma's twin strikes derailed South Africa's progress in the first innings of the third ODI of the ongoing series on Sunday (June 23). The M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is hosting the clash.
Deepti Sharma produced a moment of brilliance in the 43rd over for the hosts. On the third delivery, she cleaned up set batter Nadine de Klerk (26) to give her side a crucial breakthrough and also dented South Africa's chances of reaching a competitive total.
Deepti then went through the defense of Nonkululeko Mlaba, htting the middle stump on the very next ball. Sharma missed out on a hat-trick as Tumi Sekhukhune successfully defended the following delivery.
You can watch the two wicket-taking deliveries in the video below:
Laura Wolvaardt's 61 helped South Africa reach 215/8 in 3rd ODI vs India
South Africa batted first in the contest after winning the toss. They got off to a good start as openers Laura Wolvaardt (61) and Tazmin Brits (38) put on a 105-run partnership.
While Brits played watchfully, captain Wolvaardt put pressure on Indian bowlers with a brisk knock. Arundhati Reddy dismissed the skipper in the 20th over to give the hosts their first breakthrough.
Things went south for the Proteas side after that as their middle order collapsed without much contribution. From a good position of 105/0, they slumped to 178/8. Mieke de Ridder (26) and Tumi Sekhukhune (6) added 37 runs for the ninth wicket to take their side to 215.
Arundhati Reddy and Deepti Sharma picked up two wickets apiece for India in the bowling department. During the mid-innings break, the latter reflected on her bowling performance and said:
"Whenever I get the chance to bowl, I always think about ways to break the partnerships. I was trying to do the same today, and eventually, I was able to do that. The game plan totally depends on the situation. If there’s a partnership going on, I think about how to break the partnership and also how to contain them. It felt good, I didn’t get much turn initially, but I focused on my variations and I got the wickets."