Colombo: Spinner Sneh Rana grabbed three wickets in a single over for her maiden five-wicket haul in WODIs while Pratika Rawal excelled with a well-crafted fifty to shape India’s 15-run win over South Africa in the Women’s Tri-series here Tuesday.
Rawal continued her rich vein of form with a measured 78 off 91 balls, helping India post a competitive 276 for six after skipper Harmanpreet Kaur elected to bat first under sunny skies.
Rana then snared five wickets as South Africa were bowled out for 261 in 49.2 overs despite Tazmin Brits 109. South Africa lost their last five wickets for 21 runs, giving India their second consecutive victory in the tournament.
The seasoned off-spinner ended with figures of 5/43. She bowled a crucial 48th over, picking three wickets while giving away just three runs.
Chasing a challenging total, South Africa came out all guns blazing, putting India on the backfoot early in the chase.
Brits weathered adverse conditions and cramps to score a gritty 108 off 105 balls. She and captain Laura Wolvaardt stitched together a commanding 140-run opening stand, threatening to take the game away.
But just when the momentum seemed to have shifted decisively in South Africa’s favour, India’s spinners turned the tide.
Seasoned off Deepti Sharma (1/40) broke the stand in the 28th over, trapping Wolvaardt leg-before with one pitched outside off. Soon Rana struck, bowling Lara Goodall (9) to further tilt the game in India’s favour.
Brits went on to register her third ODI century and followed it up with back-to-back boundaries.
However, she retired hurt as she was cramping up, leaving South Africa with two new batters at the crease.
Sensing an opening, skipper Kaur brought on Arundhati Reddy (1/59) and the right-arm pacer delivered immediately, removing debutant Karabo Meso.
Left-arm spinner Shree Charani (1/51) then dismissed the experienced Sune Luus, caught at deep midwicket, as India tightened their grip on the match.
With the required run rate touching nine, Chloe Tyron and Annerie Dercksen tried to accelerate but Rana accounted for both of them and Nadine de Klerk and Brits, who returned in the 48th over, to complete a memorable five wicket-haul.
Earlier, having scored a fluent fifty in the opening game, Rawal struck seven boundaries and a six during her composed knock.
She and Smriti Mandhana (36) gave India a solid start, putting on 83 runs in 18.3 overs for the opening wicket. Mandhana played the supporting role, allowing the younger Rawal to take the lead.
The partnership was eventually broken in the 19th over when Mandhana was caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Karabo Meso off Annerie Dercksen’s bowling.
Harleen Deol then contributed a steady 29 off 47 deliveries and added 68 runs with Rawal for the second wicket, before being bowled by left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba.
Rawal, who had brought up her fifth ODI fifty, looked set for a second hundred before Mlaba cleaned her up as well.
Despite the setback, the middle order fired with Harmanpreet Kaur (41), Jemimah Rodrigues (41), and Richa Ghosh (24) all making valuable contributions, pushing India towards a challenging total.
