Though rain didn’t help, the Indian bowlers put up a better show in the middle overs compared to the first game.
It finally rained at Chepauk on Sunday. The evening began with ominous dark clouds looming over the MA Chidambaram Stadium, with heavy rains being predicted and slowly looming over the stadium. It was great, but South Africa’s batting innings was enough to deter the 13,000-plus crowd. The visitors scored 177/6 in 20 overs and India’s run-chase did not start as the match was called off due to persistent rain.
Batting first again on the same pitch used for the first match, South Africa could manage 12 runs less. Those 20 overs saw some interesting developments.
For the openers, India’s fielding was somewhat better than Friday as they created good pace in the ground fielding right from the first over. Fielding coach Munish Pauli spoke about the improvement in his players after the rest day and reiterated that they will have to work hard during the session. There was a fielding failure and it came from Jemimah Rodrigues (arguably the best outfielder in the Indian team) who took the catch in the last over to give Henri Dirksen relief, effectively resulting in a hat-trick of boundaries.
Middle-over squeeze
But India’s bowling improved a lot in the middle overs. South Africa resumed at 66/1 at the end of the powerplay. Laura Wohlwardt was once again quick off the blocks but got the first wicket to fall, while Tasmin Pritts and Marison Gabe connected well. Then Deepti Sharma bowled the 7th over and India’s innings got underway.
After the powerplay in the first T20I, South Africa scored 101 runs in the next 10 overs and lost just one wicket. In contrast, India conceded just 65 runs from 7 to 16 overs on Sunday. Deepti was at the centre of it as she ended the night with 2/20 in 4 overs. It was a sharp turnaround from her rest day in the first outing where she was uncharacteristically expensive (0/45 in 4 overs).
Radha Yadav admitted after the match on Friday that India’s bowlers made mistakes with their lengths and should have pulled things back a bit more. That’s what they did against Deepti. Her wickets of Gabb and Brits (both notable dismissals) were enabled by subtly pulling back the length to make the batsmen take the wrong shot.
Tasmin Brits of South Africa Women plays a shot during the second T20I match of the series between India Women and South Africa Women at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. (PTI)
Tazmin Brits of South Africa Women plays a shot during the second T20I cricket match of the series between India Women and South Africa Women at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. (PTI)
South Africa Women’s middle-order batsman Anneke Bosch said later that with the softer ball, India had been flattened in the air and their pace had slowed down, making it difficult to score runs. The Brits were impressive once again and scored half-centuries again, but India showed significant improvement in their middle-overs strategy. They conceded 31 runs in the last two overs, though not much came from it.
Rollercoaster debut for Uma
One of India’s four changes was behind the stumps as debutant Uma Chhetri replaced Richa Ghosh. In the second over, Chhetri thought she had got her first official dismissal and celebrated the stumping of Brits. Brits returned to the dugout when the umpires intervened.
This cost India a few runs, but Brits was eventually stumped out by Chhetri off Deepti. The big screens at the ground repeatedly showed Chhetri’s previous stumping miss and her disappointment over the mistake. But she got a little leeway on the night. Munish Pauli later praised Chhetri’s approach in training and his energy never waned even during the Test match, where he was the substitute fielder for a significant period. It was a nice little reward for the Assamese wicketkeeper as he was mobbed by his teammates for the second time on the night, this time remaining unbeaten.
