Laura Wolvaardt’s ton subjects India to series defeat

The third T20I between South Africa and India went along expected lines after the hosts had pocketed the first two games. India batted first and set the Proteas a target. South Africa gunned it down with ease. The only difference was that India actually managed to post a formidable 192/4 on the board this time around. Yet, the home side didn’t stutter, effortlessly reaching the finish line with 21 balls to spare following skipper Laura Wolvaardt’s sprightly hundred.

Wolvaardt receiving a couple of lifelines didn’t help India’s cause either as she made Harmanpreet Kaur and her girls pay by going from 86 off 43 to 101 off 47. Sune Luus at the other end brought up consecutive fifties to leave India in a spot of bother. The massive partnership finally broke apart in the 16th over after South Africa had wiped out 183 runs from the equation. Seven balls later, India were put out of their misery. The visitors still have two more games left to salvage a sliver of pride on this tour.

Brief scores: India 192/4 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 66, Shafali Verma 64; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-31) lost to South Africa 193/1 in 16.3 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 115, Sune Luus 64*) by 9 wickets