South Africa completed their highest successful chase in T20Is and sealed the five-match series against India with two matches to spare. They were led to 193 by their captain Laura Wolvaardt, who reached her third T20I century, and her fastest, off 47 balls. Wolvaardt shared a 183-run partnership with Sune Luus, whose 64 runs off 42 balls were the perfect support act. The pair were so dominant that South Africa won the match with 21 balls remaining.

The result means South Africa have won all three of their home series this season – against Ireland, Pakistan and now, India – in preparation for June’s T20 World Cup.

Put in to bat, India would have felt they gave themselves a chance of staying alive in the series when they posted their highest total against South Africa. Their innings included three fifty-plus partnerships and appeared well paced after the tone was set by Shafali Verma. After starting relatively slowly (21 off 24 balls) and surviving a short ball barrage from South Africa’s seamers, Shafali accelerated and finished with her highest score in seven innings. When she was dismissed, Harmanpreet Kaur picked up where she left off and smashed 66 of 38 balls to put India in a strong position. Until Wolvaardt got to the crease.

The South African captain continued her rich vein of form as she scored her joint-highest T20I score, her fifth successive fifty-plus score in international cricket, third half-century of the series and both her and South Africa’s fastest fifty and hundred in the format. Her partnership with Luus was South Africa’s second-highest for the first wicket and has all but confirmed the pair as the team’s T20 World Cup openers.

India start well, then stumble briefly

It has become the pattern of the series that India, thanks largely to Shafali, have enjoyed strong starts and this was their best of the series. After losing wickets in the powerplay of the last two matches, their first-wicket stand was unbroken after six over in this one. Their 51 runs may have been fewer than what they would have wanted (they scored 58 in the powerplay in match two) but it meant that they were giving themselves a better chance of avoiding a middle-order collapse. But the ghosts of Durban peeped through when left-arm spinner Nonkululekho Mlaba was brought on immediately after the fielding restrictions were lifted. Her first over cost only four runs and in her second, she took two wickets in two balls. Smriti Mandhana holed out to deep mid-wicket, where Nadine de Klerk took a good catch, and Jemimah Rodrigues, top-edged a sweep to short fine for a first ball duck. India were 68 for 2 after nine overs and nerves would have been jangling.

Harmanpreet hits out

The Indian captain chose the right occasion to get to her first T20I fifty against South Africa and to take India to their highest score of the series so far. After sharing a second-wicket stand of 73 off 42 balls with Shafali, Harmanpreet kept things together when Shafali was dismissed and put pressure on South Africa at the death. She was on 34 when Shafali eventually fell to the short ball and then took on Chloe Tryon by taking three boundaries off her second over. On 48 in the 18th over, Harmanpreet hit Nadine de Klerk over her head for a pinpoint straight four, her seventh of the innings and the shot that took her to fifty. She saved her most destructive shots for the final over, when she hit Tumi Sekhukhune over mid-wicket for a huge six and then tucked into a full toss and sent it over fine leg for six more. Her partnership with Richa Ghosh grew to 51 off 26 balls and ended things off strongly for India.

Wolvaardt whacks it

Undaunted by the task her team faced, Wolvaardt took on the bowling from the first ball when she sent Renuka Singh for four. Three more boundaries came off Kashvee Gautam and before Wolvaardt iced the cake with a straight six down the ground. She was dropped on 31, by Mandhana at extra cover, and responded even more aggressively. In Renuka’s third over, Wolvaardt hit her second six over long-on, sent a low full toss down the ground for four and then made room to slice one over point. Wolvaardt’s fifty came in the fifth over and there was no stopping her. Her on-side dominant play was a standout for the rest of the innings – she scored 84 of her 115 runs on that side of the field, including all her sixes. It didn’t all go her way, though. Wolvaardt was put down again, on 85, by Harmanpreet at extra cover and reached her century with a drive through long-on. Wolvaardt was eventually caught at deep mid-wicket with South Africa 11 runs away from victory.

More injury concerns for India?

India came into this series without Amanjot Kaur, who has a back injury, and will now be concerned about Arundhati Reddy, who left the field with what appeared to be a side strain. Arundhati bowled the fourth and sixth over without issue but when she was brought back for the 10th, she looked uncomfortable and two balls into it, needed on-field assistance. She recovered sufficiently to finish her over but made more work for herself when she gave away five wides and had to bowl an extra ball, but then could not continue. Back-up wicket-keeper Uma Chetry fielded in Arundhati’s place at first, before Anushka Sharma took over for the rest of the game.

Brief scores:
South Africa Women  193 for 1 in 16.3 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 115, Sune Luus 64*; Shreyaka Patil 1-30) beat India Women  192 for 4 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 37, Harmanpreet Kaur 66, Shafali Verma 64, Richa Gosh 18*; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-31, Nadine de Klerk 1-27)  by nine wickets

[Cricinfo]