The top-order batsmen of the South African women’s team fired in unison and helped their team win a five-match series against India with a seven-wicket win in the fourth ODI on Sunday. Chasing 267, Liesel Lee (69), Laura Volvard (53), Mignon du Preez (61) and Lara Gudall (59 not out) crossed as the visitors took a 3–1 lead in the rubber in 48.4 overs. Completed. The selection of a poor team for India by the new committee of Neetu David was quite costly as the hosts paid the price for ignoring the nature of Shafali Verma in batting and Shikha Pandey’s experience in bowling.
The win meant Poonam Raut’s third ODI century and veteran Harmanpreet Kaur’s 54-ball Atishi innings in 35 balls.
South Africa were in play at the time when the pair of last match century Liezel Lee and captain Laura Volvard scored 116 runs in 23 overs.
Taking care with aggression, the duo moved the scorecard at a fairly good pace until Harmanpreet Kaur trapped the dangerous Lee in front of the wicket off a 75-run ball.
After being joined by Lara Goodall, Volhardt did not last long after Lee was dismissed, being dismissed shortly after reaching his half-century.
Goodall got a life when Sushma Verma missed a stumping and in the next delivery, the batsman took a step forward and played an inside-out shot for a boundary.
After this, Goodall hit off the back boundary of off-spinner Deepti Sharma with a full toss to the waist.
Du Preez gave left-arm spinner Radha Yadav two runs off three consecutive balls – through the point area and into a deep square leg fence.
Du Preez actually rolled the ball in the 34th over with a six and a four over Poonam Yadav, taking his team from 148/4 to 162.
He needed 97 from the last 15 overs. Du Preez struck the same vein until she fell to Rajeshwari Gaekwad, until she could play above mid-on.
But Goodall stayed to the end to guide his team to victory. Earlier, 31-year-old Raut hit 10 fours in his unbeaten 104 runs.
Harmanpreet hit seven fours and a six, completing her half-century in just 33 balls before falling to a slower ball.
Soon after, Raut hit his century with a single off 119 balls. Prior to that, Raut added 103 runs for the third wicket with captain Mithali Raj (45 off 71 balls), becoming the only player in women’s cricket to complete 7,000 ODI runs before being dismissed in the second powerplay.
Mithali flies to Shabnam Ismail in the air to complete a good running catch to thwart most of the chances he got in the last over.
The century partnership laid the foundation for a challenging total against the South African team that won both their matches in a five-match series in a chase.
After Mithali’s dismissal, Raut joined with the flamboyant Harmanpreet to add another 88 runs in the flamboyant time.
Harmanpreet was in her element, hitting two fours to start her innings.
In his precious style, the India T20 captain came to know of playing his stroke as a score of 200 in the 41st over.
Harmanpreet’s free-flowing game led to the presence of a well-settled Raut at the other end, who was content to tick the scoreboard after the South African bowlers.
After playing some great shots during his stay in the middle, Raut experienced 70 ODIs in the 90s, when he directed Ismail to the third-man boundary.
In the midst of a boundary blow, medium pacer Marijane Cup performed brilliantly in the 46th over and scored just four runs.
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Anne Bosch continued to do good work and conceded only five runs in the next over.
But Harmanpreet broke the hut when she used her power to send off-spinner Nondimiso Schenge to mid-wicket at deep midwicket.
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