Women's T20 WC: Kapp, Ismail pick two scalps each as South Africa restrict India to 158/7
Manchester, June 21
South Africa's pace spearheads Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail picked two wickets apiece to peg India back after a blazing start, as the Proteas restricted Harmanpreet Kaur-led side to 158/7 in their Group A clash of 2206 Women's T20 World Cup at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Electing to bat first, India raced to 59/2 in the powerplay, but the middle overs proved far trickier on a dry surface where the ball often held up, as they amassed 57/3 in overs 7-15. Though India added 42 runs in the final five overs, South Africa's disciplined bowlers struck regularly to ensure no batter crossed fifty, including giving away only six extras.
This was only the second time after 2016 that India have crossed 150 in a T20 World Cup game without an individual half‑century, thus leaving the contest delicately poised. India's innings began with Shafali Verma crisply clipping Marizanne Kapp off her pads for four, before driving Shabnim Ismail through cover for another boundary. Smriti Mandhana joined in by driving Shabnim on the up, before pulling her to collect consecutive boundaries.
After flicking Marizanne Kapp wide of mid‑on for four, Smriti went for a very ambitious scoop, which became fatal as she missed the length completely and was left to see her stumps rattled.
Chloe Tryon got a punishing introduction as Shafali danced down to thrash her through cover, sweep powerfully, before launching a 74‑metre six over long‑off in a 17-run fourth over. But Shabnim's hostile bumper snared her glove while trying to leave it late - replays showed the 122.5 kmph bumper took a feather edge and Shafali was out for 31.
Yastika Bhatia played some fine boundaries, before being trapped plumb lbw off Ayabonga Khaka for 15. Jemimah Rodrigues couldn't last long - she closed her bat face too late and Nadine de Klerk produced a diving caught‑and‑bowled dismissal to remove her for 12.
Harmanpreet Kaur, playing in her landmark 200th T20I game, and Deepti Sharma tried to steady the innings through a 33-run stand, before Shabnim had the former chopping on to her stumps for 24. Though Deepti and Richa Ghosh hit three boundaries in seven balls, the tempo never truly lifted for India.
Deepti, who had been so assured with the sweep, was undone by one from Nonkululeko Mlaba that floated slower and wider, and miscued to short fine leg for 29. With Richa struggling to find rhythm and missing out on hittable balls, Marizanne removed her with a slower ball and top-edge on sweep was caught by short fine leg. Prema Rawat, on debut, and Arundhati Reddy managed a couple of runs before India ended two runs short of 160.
Brief Scores: India 158/7 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 31, Deepti Sharma 29; Marizanne Kapp 2-27, Shabnim Ismail 2-28) against South Africa
— IANS
Reader Comments
Middle overs batting let us down again. We lost momentum after Shafali's wicket and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Deepti played well but needed someone to stay with her. 160 would have been ideal, but still a fighting total. Need early wickets!
As a neutral fan, great competitive match shaping up. India's batting depth is impressive but South Africa's bowling attack is world-class - Kapp and Ismail are absolute legends. The dry pitch is making it interesting. Looking forward to the chase!
Honestly disappointed with the batting approach. Smriti's scoop shot was unnecessary when she was timing the ball so well. And Jemimah needs to work on her strike rotation. We keep making the same mistakes in big matches. Hope the bowlers can pull off something special 🙏
India's batting lineup is so much more aggressive now compared to a few years ago - Shafali's 17-run over against Tryon was electric! Even 158 can be defended if the spinners exploit this surface. The match isn't over yet, folks.
Need to criticize the batting order decisions - sending Yastika at 3 didn't work, and Harmanpreet took too many balls to get going. Deepti was our best batter today and should have come higher. Still, 158 is par on this track. Proud of the girls for fighting till the end 💪
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