India defended 276 – their third highest-score against South Africa – in dramatic fashion to record successive wins in the Sri Lanka tri-series. South Africa were fairly comfortable on 170 for 2 after 33 overs chasing 277 and Tazmin Britts had scored her third ODI hundred and was anchoring their effort. With the required run-rate a touch above six an over, Brits retired hurt with cramp and that sent South Africa into freefall. They lost eight wickets for 80 runs, including three in an over to Sneh Rana, who finished with career-best figures of 5 for 43, and fell short by 15 runs.

Brits’ need to leave the field to seek medical assessment was one reason South Africa lost their tri-series opener but there were several others. Pratika Rawal’s 78 – her fifth successive fifty-plus score in the format which also made her the fastest to 500 runs in ODIs – set India up well and twin 41s from Harman preet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues and a 14-ball 24 from Richa Ghosh helped India score 82 runs in the last ten overs. Their total was helped to balloon beyond South Africa’s reach thanks to 13 wides they sent down. India, for comparison, only bowled two wides and a no-ball.

Overall, India’s ground fielding was sharper, though they put down three catches which included Brits’ twice, and their spinners controlled the middle period well. Rana and Deepti Sharma conceded 83 runs between them in their 20 overs while Shree Charani bowled ten overs with figures of 1 for 51.

After India cruised past Sri Lanka in the series opener,   they were challenged by a South African side who have not played together for more than four months and looked rusty, especially against Smriti Mandhana and Rawal. The pair put on 83 for the opening stand, with Mandhana initially taking most of the strike and playing the aggressor role while Rawal eased herself in. South Africa started to rein them in and gave away no boundaries between the tenth and 18th over – by which point they had used five different bowlers – and then brought Annerie Dercksen on to try and get a breakthrough.

She benefited from the pressure her colleagues had created. After delivering two wides in her first four balls, Dercksen went short, down leg, Mandhana followed and gloved the chance to Karabo Meso, who took her first ODI catch. Dercksen’s over was still poor as she conceded 19 runs, including five wides and the six over deep mid-wicket that got Rawal to fifty.

Rawal was given a life when she was on 71 and flicked Masabata Klaas to deep square leg, where Chloe Tryon ran to her right to get to the ball but could not hold on. South Africa then thought they had run Harleen Deol out off the next ball when Meso flicked the bail off and Deol seemed short of her ground but the third umpire disagreed. Just as South Africa may have wondered where another wicket would come from, Mlaba ended their frustration with a double strike. In the 31st over, she bowled Rawal with a beauty that dipped and turned past the outside edge to hit offstump and in the 33rd, drew Deol forward to bowl her with a full ball.

Harmanpreet, batting for the first time in ODIs this year, should have been caught at deep cover when she sliced Nadine de Klerk to Lara Goodall but was put down on 4. Despite the miss, South Africa squeezed hard and India were unable to find the boundary for ten overs, until Dercksen returned. She continued to struggle with her lengths and conceded 17 off her second over as India entered the final ten on 195 for 3.

Rodrigues and Harmanpreet’s stand grew to fifty and Rodrigues was playing her shots but when she tried to scoop Klaas over fine leg, only managed to find Ayabonga Khaka at 45. Ghosh played an aggressive cameo and scored 24 runs off the 14 balls she faced and India plundered 82 runs in the last ten overs, including nine fours and a six.

By the time South Africa got to the last ten overs of their innings, they needed 81 runs and had seven wickets in hand. Brits had retired by then in what has been called extreme heat even by Colombo standards but would have felt she’d set her team-mates up well. She dominated the 140-run opening stand with Laura Wolvaardt – South Africa’s second highest for the first wicket – and scored 90 runs off 93 balls to Wolvaardt’s 43 off 75. Brits was also put down twice, on 51 by Deepti off her own bowling and 67 by Harmanpreet at mid-off. Deepti was eventually rewarded when Wolvaardt was hit on the pads as she tried to work her into the legside and given out lbw which allowed India to start to claw their way back.

Goodall, playing in place of the injured Anneke Bosch, played all around a Rana arm ball and was bowled but with Brits still there, South Africa seemed in control. She reached her hundred off the 103rd ball she faced and then blasted two fours in the same over but after the second, could not continue. Her partner at the time was 17-year old Meso, who suddenly found herself with a big job.

Meso was on 7 off 17 balls when she tried to hit Arundhati Reddy through the off-side but played on which brought the experienced pair of Sune Luus and Tryon together. The required run-rate had climbed over seven. Luus was dropped in the 41st over when she gave Reddy a knee-height chance in her follow through but then holed out to deep mid-wicket in the next over. South Africa needed 70 off 50 balls. Tryon and Dercksen got that down to 41 off 30 before Tryon chipped Rana to midwicket in her penultimate over. Rana’s last over was the one South Africa had to survive.

Instead, de Klerk was bowled trying to sweep off the second ball, Dercksen mistimed a slog sweep to deep square leg and Brits came out again only to hand Rana a return catch and end South Africa’s hopes. They went from 249 for 5 to 252 for 8 and had no recognised batters left. Their last two batters were run-out as India sealed the win with four balls to spare and cemented themselves at the top of the points table.

Brief scores:
India Women  276 for 6 in 50 overs (Pratika Rawal 78, Smriti Mandhana 36, Harleen Deol 29, Jemimah Rodrigues 41, Harmanpreet Kaur 41*, Richa Ghosh 24; Nomkululeko  Mlaba 2-55) beat South Africa Women  261 in 49.2 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 43, Tazmin Brits 109, Sunee Luus28, Aneerie Dercksen 30; Sneh Rana 5-43) by 15 runs

[Cricinfo]