2nd WT20I: Wolvaardt, Luus fifties help South Africa script 8-wicket win over India

Durban: Laura Wolvaardt made a free-flowing 54 and Sune Luus complemented her skipper with a well-composed 57 as South Africa crushed India by eight wickets in the second women’s T20I here on Sunday.

The match’s script was written in clear letters once SA bowlers bundled out India for a below-par 147, and it was taken into its logical culmination by Wolvaardt and Luus who added 106 runs for the opening alliance in just 12 overs.

The hosts made 148 for two in 17.1 overs. SA now lead the five-match series 2-0.

Wolvaardt was quite impressive, making runs more through finding gaps rather than going for big hits.

However, the SA skipper freed her hands whenever the opportunity presented, like an inside out six over covers off left-arm spinner Sree Charani.

Wolvaardt soon reached her fifty, 15th in a stellar T20I career so far, off just 30 balls.

At the other end, Luus was more patient, working spinners around for singles and twos with occasional boundaries, such as a maximum off off-spinner Shreyanka Patil.

The Bengaluru cricketer, however, had the last laugh, getting rid of both Wolvaardt and Luus, but the two wickets came too late to alter the course of the match.

Earlier, opener Shafali Verma struck a typically aggressive 57 but rest of the Indian batters struggled against largely accurate South Africa bowlers, settling for a below par 147 all out.

Shafali was involved in a fine stand of 53 with debutant Anushka Sharma (28) but it was not a smooth stay by any stretch of imagination.

After losing Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues in successive overs of left-arm spinner Chloe Tryon (3/22), India did mount a comeback through Shafali and Anushka.

But taking a cue from their spinners, SA pacers Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune (3/31) and Nadine de Klerk too mixed cutters and slow balls to keep Indian batters guessing.

The third wicket alliance between Shafali and Anushka, who were given lives respectively on 24 and 11, was a prime example of that.

Shafali, who hammered Sekhukhune for two fours and a six in an over in the Power Play, slowed down, whereas Anushka, who began her international career with a four, too found the going tough.

Shafali reached her 15th T20I fifty in 31 balls but fell soon, skying Noku Mlaba to De Klerk in the deep.

A little bit earlier, Tryon had ousted Anushka as India slipped to 109 for 4 in the 14th over from a healthier 99 for two in the 12th over.

Thereafter, India kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma all fell attempting acceleration. Had SA held on to their catches, India would have been bowled out for a much lower total.

In fact, India lost eight wickets for a mere 48 runs in that period of disarray.