A well compiled maiden ODI century at home from Smriti Mandhana, followed by a spin strangle, helped India begin the multi-format series with a clinical 143-run thrashing of South Africa at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (June 16).
In testing conditions, Mandhana anchored India’s competitive total of 265/8 with her sixth ODI hundred before the spin troika, led by Asha Sobhana’s 4-21, bundled out South Africa for just 122 inside 38 overs to collect the two ICC Women’s ODI Championship points on offer.
Mandhana batted for 200 minutes of India’s 217, battling cramps to put on a masterclass that kept the innings together amidst South Africa’s early success. The India vice-captain kicked off with back-to-back classic cover drives before switching to her preferred on-side, hitting half of her dozen boundaries in the arc between square leg and midwicket during her knock of 117. But it wasn’t before a handful of hiccups, on a pitch with some variable bounce, for a rusty top-order with India not having played the 50-overs format in over five months.
Masabata Klaas lured Shafali Verma into an expansive drive, and induced a thick outside edge that Sinalo Jafta lapped up in a superb diving effort behind the stumps. Five overs later, the move to bring in spin in the powerplay paid dividends for the visitors as Mlaba had D Hemalatha – India’s new no. 3 – slogging across the line to hand a sitter to mid-off. While a few timely boundaries from Mandhana towards the end of the Powerplay brought India their fifty, in another soft dismissal, debutant Annerie Dercksen sent Harmanpreet Kaur packing for just 10. As India inched closer to a slow 100, Jemimah Rodrigues perished after a promising start as she tried to break free with a slogsweep against offspinner Nondumiso Shangase. Richa Ghosh, demoted to no. 6, was in and out in a jiffy, leaving the hosts at a bothersome 99/5 after 22 overs.
Amidst stump-to-stump bowling from South Africa and a steadily dipping run-rate, Mandhana found an ally in Deepti. Although the boundaries dried up for a stretch of 45 deliveries, the pair dug in to pull India out of the hole with their 81-run partnership. Mandhana broke the boundary-less spell to raise the half-century of the stand, but by then she was also running gingerly due to cramps. South Africa, too, had their fair share of slip ups at the backend with fielding lapses, dropped chances and aimless overthrows allowing even a struggling Mandhana to run for two. The visitors also burnt a review on Mandhana, batting on 75 then, backing a caught-behind appeal off Dercksen.
Sobhana impressed on her ODI debut ©BCCI
Against the run of play then, Deepti dragged an inside edge onto her stumps, attempting a drive off a length ball that kept low from the returning Ayabonga Khaka. Vastrakar, however, made her intentions clear with a first-ball cut for four. Mandhana moved into the 90s courtesy one of those boundary-line lapses off Klaas, and lofted the pacer cleanly over long-on for a maximum in her subsequent over before reaching the triple-digit mark for the first time on home soil. However, Klaas had the last laugh as Mandhana eventually holed out in her final over, walking off to a standing ovation from the crowd and dressing room alike. While the vice-captain’s 127-ball knock had done the bulk of damage, a set Vastrakar combined with the tail to push the total to a challenging 265.
With the track keeping bowlers of all varieties interested, contrary to Chinnaswamy’s reputation, India could not have asked for a better start from the new-ball pair. First, Renuka Thakur got one to seam in, sneak through the bat-pad gap, and hit the top of Laura Wolvaardt’s off-stump four balls into South Africa’s chase. In a wicket-maiden from the other end, Vastrakar too got one to nip back in and trapped Anneke Bosch plumb in front to reduce South Africa to 21/2 by the close of the sixth over.
The spin strangle proved to be their undoing from there on. The tourists ended Powerplay on 33/2, with a desperate need to rebuild, but just as the field spread out Tazmin Brits unnecessarily advanced at Deepti Sharma and ended up slicing a dolly to point, where Radha Yadav completed a fine catch. With three different spinners operating in tandem, in helpful conditions, even the experienced duo of Marizanne Kapp and Sune Luus found it difficult to put the ball away. Kapp didn’t hold back though when pace was reintroduced, smashing a half-volley from Thakur through covers for four and then lofting one over long-on for the first six of the chase. But the fireworks were short-lived.
Asha, who received the ODI cap from Harmanpreet in the afternoon, also had her captain to thank for her maiden ODI scalp. The legspinner made Kapp fetch a tossed up legbreak from outside off, only to draw a simple catch to extra-cover and depart for 24. Dercksen’s maiden batting innings ended in a comical fashion – dropped at backward point by Rodrigues off Asha but run-out on the same delivery trying to steal a quick single.
Luus got South Africa the move on, crashing a couple of drives through the covers when Radha dished out slot balls. But Deepti put an end to her resistance shortly afterwards. The offspinner convinced her captain to take the LBW call upstairs, only to be left disappointed but sent her packing the very next delivery with Luus burning one of her team’s two reviews this time. Reduced to 92/6, South Africa were at a point of no return. Running out of partners, Jafta, the last recognised batter, decided to take some risks against the part-time spin of Harmanpreet and managed to dispatch a couple of them to the fence. But, Asha cleaned up the remainder of the tail in no time, finishing with impressive figures of 8.4-2-21-4 on debut to deny South Africa two crucial championship points.
Brief scores: India 265/8 in 50 overs (Smriti Mandhana 117, Deepti Sharma 37, Pooja Vastrakar 31*; Ayabonga Khaka 3-47, Masabata Klaas 2-51) beat South Africa 122 all out in 37.4 overs (sinalo Jafta 27*, Marizanne Kapp 24; Asha Sobhana 4-21, Deepti Sharma 2-10) by 143 runs
