The India women’s team beat South Africa by 178 runs in the second one-day international match at Kimberley on Wednesday. With the win, India won the three-match series 2-0 with a game to spare. The third and final one-day game will be played on Saturday. This series was also a first-round fixture of the ICC Women’s Championship, which gave both teams a chance to directly qualify for the 2021 Women’s World Cup.

India’s Smriti Mandhana smashed 135 as they reached 302/3 after being put in to bat first. She hit 14 boundaries and a six en route to her century. She plundered 22 runs in an over after reaching the three-figure mark and was eventually dismissed after facing 129 balls.

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Incidentally, this is Mandhana’s second ODI century against South Africa. Mandhana had earlier made a 98-ball 84 in India’s 88-run win over South Africa in the first ODI.

Veda Krishnamurthy smashed a quick-fire 51 of just 33 balls as well. She was at the heart of a strong finish by India that saw them score 29 in the last two overs to score 300-plus for only the second time in ODIS.

Harmanpreet Kaur anchored the innings and chipped in with a useful 55 (69) in her 150th international match.

In response, the South Africa batting unit failed to get their act together as they were bowled out for 124 in 31 overs. Except for opener Lizelle Lee, who made 73, no other player really contributed with the bat. Nine batsmen were out with single digits scores as Marizanne Kapp remained not out on 17.

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Amongst India bowlers, Poonam Yadav took 4/24 as Deepti Sharma and Rajeshwari Gayakwad taking two wickets apiece. Veteran player Jhulan Goswami bagged the first wicket of opener Laura Wolvaardt, which triggered the collapse. Goswami’s wicket made her the first player to take 200 wickets in one-day cricket.

In the end, a great performance by bat and ball ensured an easy win for India.