Mignon du Preez’s South African team bounced back from a heavy defeat in the second ODI to win the three-match series 2-1 after winning the final match in Bangalore on Friday.
Du Preez won the toss and elected to field first. It’s always a risky decision as the wickets in India generally spin more in the second innings, but the South African bowlers backed up the skipper’s decision.
Sunette Loubser was the pick of the bowlers. She gave her off-spinners plenty of air and extracted just enough turn to keep the batsmen honest. She finished with figures of 3-28 in eight overs, as India were dismissed for 180 in the 48th over.
After struggling to chase down a significant smaller target in the first ODI, the South African top order needed to take the responsibility of securing a rare series victory away from home. Nadine Moodley and the captain did exactly that at No 3 and No 4. Moodley negotiated 90 balls for her 54, ensuring that the Proteas women would take the chase deep into the overs. Du Preez was far more fluent at the other end, scoring a 59-ball 46.
The two set batsmen departed within one run off each other, causing a flutter in the change room as 59 runs were still required for victory. After Nonkululeko Thabethe fell for a second ball duck, Loubser came in at No 8 and completed a quality all-round performance. She finished with an undefeated 23 off 44 balls to take the team home with four wickets in hand and a full two overs to spare.
Report compiled by Gareth Stevens.
Photo: Backpagepix
