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#INDW #3rd #T20I #Focus #Mandhana #Deepti #India #stay #afloat">IND-W vs SA-W, 3rd T20I: Focus on Mandhana, Deepti as India tries to stay afloat Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and senior all-rounder Deepti Sharma would like to bring out their ‘A’ games as the Indian women’s team tries to pull all its stops to get back to winning ways against South Africa in the third T20 International on Wednesday.
The Proteas women lead the five-match series 2-0 and would like to complete the series win in the third match at the Bull Ring.
Mandhana, easily team’s most impactful batter, scored 13 and 12 in the first two games. India put up an underwhelming show with totals of 157 and 147 which the home team surpassed without breaking much sweat.
As far as Deepti is concerned, her form has been more worrisome. She was demoted to No. 9 in the first game where she remained not out on one run and was dismissed for identical score in the second game where she was sent up the order at No. 6. In both games, she went wicketless.
The Indian batting is very much dependent on Mandhana’s free-flowing starts and the stylish southpaw would like to make amends for the poor returns in the first two games. Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues did get some runs in the first match but came a cropper in the second outing.
With T20 World Cup in England only a couple of months away, Harmanpreet & Co. would like to get its mojo back and notch up a few victories which is essential to boost the morale of the team.
What has hurt India more is the fact that there has been no power-hitting at the back-end of the innings leading to below-par totals in both games.
“If you see both the games in 12 overs or so, we were at 100 and then after that we couldn’t finish the way we wanted them to but that always happens in cricket,” bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi said at the pre-match press conference.
On Deepti’s form, Salvi defended the veteran all-rounder, who was a star performer during India’s ODI World Cup triumph.
“One or two games or three games doesn’t justify the kind of talent she (Deepti) is, the kind of performances she has put in over the years. She is not at her best as of now but she has gone back to the drawing board, discussing all her game plans, what she wants to use during the games.
“It’s only a matter of a few instances where probably she just strikes and she comes back shining,” Salvi backed her with all intent.
For the Proteas, skipper Laura Wolvaardt has once again proved to be a thorn in the flesh for India with back-to-back half-centuries (51 and 54).
The Indian attack has also looked rudderless during PowerPlay and Salvi admitted that they are currently carrying out a trial and error as to which bowlers would work during the global event.
“We are actually giving opportunities to all the bowlers to operate into that segment so that we don’t rely only on a few bowlers coming into the main event (T20 World Cup).
“But obviously, yes, we would like to pick wickets, we would like to strike early, we would like to use the power play from the bowling point of view so that we create that impact initially into the game,” Salvi added.
Published on Apr 21, 2026
Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and senior all-rounder Deepti Sharma would like to bring out their ‘A’…
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#INDW #Wolvaardt #Luus #fifties #South #Africa #script #8wicket #win #India">IND-W vs SA-W: Wolvaardt, Luus fifties help South Africa script 8-wicket win over India
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 leads 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.
Also read | In hope of stars to turn up, Mumbai Indians visits in-form Gujarat Titans
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 PowerPlay, 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.
Published on Apr 19, 2026
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 leads 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.
Also read | In hope of stars to turn up, Mumbai Indians visits in-form Gujarat Titans
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 PowerPlay, 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.
Published on Apr 19, 2026
Laura Wolvaardt made a free-flowing 54 and Sune Luus complemented her skipper with a well-composed…