Indian eves inch closer to victory

Kaur, Rajeshwari trouble South African batters

India women inched closer to victory as they bundled out their South African counterparts for a meagre 234 and then reduced them to 83 for six after forcing a follow-on on the third and penultimate day of the one-off Test match here on Tuesday.

Despite a century by skipper Mignon du Preez, South African eves failed to topple India’s first innings total of 400 for six declared, thereby trailing the hosts by 166 runs at the SDNW ground.

Earlier, resuming at 85 for three in their first innings, South Africa lost seven wickets for just 149 runs as Harmanpreet Kaur (5/44) and Rajeshwari Gayakwad (4/54) wreaked havoc to share the exploits.

Apart from Preez, who scored a 253-ball 102 studded with 15 boundaries, only two other batters could reach the double-digit mark in the first innings.

While Trisha Chetty hit 56, opener Nadine Moodley had scored 40 on Monday.
In their second innings, South Africa eves kept losing wickets at regular intervals and at the end of the day were staring at a comprehensive defeat.

At stumps, Chetty was unbeaten on six, while Chloe Tryon was not out on 15, still needing 83 runs to avoid an innings defeat.

Poonam Yadav (2/15) and Jhulan Goswami (2/18) shared the bowling spoils in the second innings.

Brief scores: India: 400/6 decl vs South Africa: 234 all out in 110 overs (Mignon du Preez 102, Trisha Chetty 56; Harmanpreet Kaur 5-44, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 4-54) and South Africa: 83/6 in 41 overs (Poonam Yadav 2-15, Jhulan Goswami 2-18).