India vs South Africa, women’s T20I as it happened: Mithali Raj stars in India record win

Mithlai Raj named the Player of the Match for her 48-ball 52. Opening the innings, she played a controlled knock to lead India’s chase, forming important partnerships. Well deserved.

What a win for India!
India complete their highest-ever T20I chase with a 7-wicket win!
Fittingly, it is a six from Veda Krishnamurthy (37 off 22) that ends the chase, with seven balls to spare.
It looked easy in the end, but it wasn’t so. After two wickets fell in two balls in the fifth over, it down to the composure of Mithali Raj, the brave knock of Jemimah Rodrigues and Veda Krishnamurthy’s swashbuckling style.
A complete team effort!

End of Over 18: Ismail gets the ball and Raj casually flick her for back-to-back boundaries to being up her 50 off 45 balls. Four singles follow to take India to the threshold of victory. India need only 5 more, 160/3. Veda on 30 off 18.

Fifty for Mithali Raj! She has been the sheet anchor for India, carrying her bat through the innings after opening the batting.

End of Over 17: Kapp is brought back in the attack after her expensive first over. Krishnamurthy feeds on her at once with a huge six off the second ball and a four off the last. She gets 13 runs in the over. India 148/3, need 17 off 18 balls. The hard-hitter Veda has brought the match back for India.
It is India’s match to lose now.

End of Over 16: South Africa bring back the economical Daniels back in the attack and she starts right on the money with two dot balls, a single, two more dot balls and a single. A run out opportunity missed as well. Over to Krishnamurthy to bring the equation in control again after a one-run over.
India 135/3, need 24 off 30 balls.

End of Over 15: And soon as we ask for one, Krishnamurthy steps up and how!
Four. Four. Six. And the requires run rate equation has been knocked out of the park after that Ntozakhe over. She is on 17 off only 9 balls, India 133/3 needing 32 runs from 30 balls.

End of Over 14: What a start to the over from Raj as she creams it straight down the ground for four. But it doesn’t end with the same flourish after the wicket. Six runs and a wicket, India 117/3, need 48 from 36 and a Veda Krishnamurthy special to win here.

Wicket! Rodrgiues falls on 37 off 27. The 17-year-old’s valiant debut knock comes to an end as she top edges a simple catch to Ntozakhe at short leg off van Niekerk. It was a good innings from her, but the scoreboard pressure forced a risky shot in the end. India 116/3
The hard-hitting Veda Krishnamurthy in next.

End of Over 13: Oh dear, South Africa blunder a big chance to break the partnership as the keeper misses a stumping opportunity of Raj. But only five runs in the over, India 111/2.

End of Over 12: Van Niekerk bowls a tight over as well, giving away only four as well. Pressure back on India’s batters now.
India 106/2, need 59 to win from 48 balls.

End of Over 11: A tidy over from Ntozakhe as she gives away only 4 runs to take the equation to 7 runs per over. India 102/0

End of Over 10: Raj and Rodrigues bring up their 50-run partnership in only 31 balls as India rebuild positively. India 98/2 at the halfway mark in the chase, need 67 runs from 60 balls.

End of Over 9: Raisibe Ntozakhe into the attack and goes for 9 runs with Raj getting the boundary. India 90/2. Need 75 runs to win from 66 balls.

End of Over 8: Dane van Niekerk brings herself into the attack and gives away only 5 runs to bring the scoring rate down by a fraction. Raj 20* (19), Rodrigues 23* (13)

India are 81/2, SA were 62/2 at the same stage.

End of Over 7: India take 10 runs in that Daniels over with one more boundary from Rodrigues. India 74/2

End of Over 6: Rodrigues is finding her feet fast as she hits three boundaries to get 17 runs off the over from Khaka. Good response from the youngster after the double-wicket carnage in the previous over. India 64/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Wicket! Two wickets in two balls for South Africa! Harmanpreet Kaur is run out on a duck. Miscommunication between the two batters and Sune Luus doesn’t miss. India 47/2
Debutant Jemimah Rodrigues walks out.

This is great work from the Proteas, after the kind of start India got. Veteran Raj and youngster Rodrigues need to rebuild from scratch now.

Wicket! Mandhana is gone for 28 off 15. Moseline Daniels gets the breakthrough to end the dangerous-looking partnership. Dane van Niekerk gets a simple catch at extra cover as the opener tries to attack. Ind 47/1. Harmapreet Kaur the new batter in.

End of Over 4: India breaks free after two sedate overs with 177 runs off that over from Ismail. A neat pull for four and then a lofted six from Mandhana, followed by a Mithali Raj maximum. This is smart and entertaining batting. India 45/0. South Africa were 26/1 at this stage.

End of Over 3: Good bolwing change. Moseline Daniels replaces Kapp after the big first over and bowls a tight over, giving away only two runs, of of which was a wide. India 28/0

End of Over 2: A little more sedate with only 6 runs in the second over off Ismail. India 26/2

20 in the first over: What a start for India! Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj take the attack to Proteas right away in the big chase. Kapp with the new ball, Mandhana 14 off 4, Raj 4 off 2.

End of the innings, South Africa 164/4
23 runs off the last over by Pandey as Chloe Tryon smashes three sixes and a four!
She has ensured South Africa’s innings ends with a flourish with runs in the last over as they set a formidable score. She finishes on an incredible 32 off 7 balls.
India will need to chase at a run rate if 8.25, a stiff ask.
Join us in a bit for India’s chase.

End of Over 19: The wicket doesn’t seem to deter South Africa as Tryon slams a six and a four on her first two balls. SA 142/4 with one over to go.

Wicket! Patil strikes in the 19th! Mignon du Preez tries to go for a big one but doesn’t get the elevation and it goes straight to Veda Krishnamurthy at long on. She goes for 31 off 27, SA 130/4.

End of Over 18: Pacer Pandey back into the attack and bowls an excellent, tight line to give away only 3 runs. Crucial moment as SA were looking to go big at the end. SA 129/3 with 2 overs to go.

End of Over 17: 9 runs from that over from Harmanpreet as du Preez makes sure SA aren’t pegged down at the death. SA 126/3, with 3 overs to go in the innings.

End of Over 16: De Klarke breaks the shackles in this over with a crisp six and a four off Poonam Yadav to take 13 runs from the over. SA 117/3

End of Over 15: Captain Harmanpreet Kaur brings herself into the attack, at a very crucial time as well. It has been more than an over since the last boundary and Proteas looking to attack. But what an over from Harman – 5 singles and a dot. The scoring rate just a shade below 7 but the pressure in on the hosts. SA 104/3

End of Over 14: Excellent over from Poonam Yadav as she gives away only 3 runs. SA 99/3

End of Over 13: South Africa move ahead with a steady scoring rate of 7.31 with du Preez taking the lead even as India’s spinners apply pressure. SA 95/3

Wicket! Patil gets the breakthrough as van Niekerk is dismissed for 38 off 31. The South African captain tries to go for sweep but is trapped plumb by the off-break bowler and the umpire has little hesitation. This could be a big moment for India, SA 84/3

End of Over 10: Patil manages to put some break to the scoring rate, pulling back well after going for a boundary of the first ball. At the halfway mark, SA are 83/2. Van Nieker 37 off 25, du Preez 6 off 5.

End of Over 9: Poonam Yadav into the attack and is smashes for 14 runs as Mignon du Preez gets into the act. But it is captain van Niekerk who does the heavy lifting as she plays with the field placement to get two boundaries.
Despite the wicket, momentum back with South Africa. SA 76/2

Wicket! Big one! Sune Luus falls on 18 (off 13) after a dangerous, brief cameo! Vastrakar gets a wicket on the last ball of her spell after being slammed for a six and 4. Pandey takes a superb catch at deep cover to strike a big blow to the hosts. Harmanpreet’s call to bowl Vastrakar’s quota of overs at a stretch. works as she finishes with figures of 4-0-34-1. SA 62/2

End of Over 7: Another debutant, Radha Yadav into the attack in the seventh over. The teen gives away a no-ball and then a six to concede 11 runs in the over.

End of Over 6: The scoring rate has come down a bit after the dismissal but South Africa still have a healthy score of 37/1 at the end of the Powerplay.

Wicket! A change of ends works for Pandey at once, as the aggressor Lizelle Lee falls on 19 off 18. An easy catch for Harmanpreet Kaur at mid-off. SA 26/1 in 4.2 overs

Sune Luus is the new batter in.

End of over 4: 10 runs from the third over from Vastrakar, SA 24/0.
And we have a bowling change at once. T20 specialist and off-break bowler Anuja Patil brought in from the other end.
The change works at once as she pegs down the scoring rate to give away only 2 runs. SA 26/0.

End of over 2: Shikha Pandey to share the new ball. She goes for runs as Lee takes the attack to her, scoring 11 runs in the second over. SA 14/0 after 2

Pooja Vastrakar with the new ball for India, gives away three runs as Dane van Niekerk and Lizelle Lee to open for South Africa.

Here’s the moment the newcomers got their India cap

4: 20 PM: India will play with four debutants in the first Twenty20 – Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniya Bhatia, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav.

17-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues set for her India international debut in Potchefstroom.
Here’s the story of the Mumbai prodigy Jemimah Rodrigues’s confidence and sharp cricket acumen makes her a strong India prospect

India have won the toss and elected to field first.

T20 League impact: South Africa has several players who have played in the Women’s Bis Bash League in Australia or the Super League in England.

Marizanne Kapp, Dané van Niekerk, Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Lizelle Lee and Suné Luus having played in at least one Women’s Big Bash or KIA Super League tournament in recent years.

For India, Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy played in the WBBL this season.

4.00 PM: Here’s what Marizanne Kapp had to say about the T20 series.

“For now, we concentrate on India who are also a really strong side and play an aggressive brand of T20 cricket. The margin for error in this format is very small so we’re going to have to play our best cricket in every over. All that being said, we’re really looking forward to this new challenge and I’m confident of our team’s chances.”

3.55 PM: With the World T20 this year, both India and South Africa are looking to get some much-needed match practise in the shortest format at the international level.

While India haven’t played the format since December 2016, this is South Africa’s first in 18 months.

Read our preview for the match: Harmanpreet Kaur back at the helm as India take on South Africa in five-match T20I series

3.45 PM: Even before the series has begun, India has been dealt a blow with pace spearhead Jhulan Goswami being ruled out due to a heel injury. Gowami, who became the first woman to pick 200 ODI wickets in the second ODI, took five wickets in the first two matches, both of which India won.
Mithali Raj and Co won the ODI series, which was part of the ICC Women’s Championship, 2-1.

3.40 PM: Hello and welcome to The Field’s Live blog for the first Twenty20 International between India and South Africa in Potchefstroom.

In the first of the five-match series, India will look to get the early momentum. The match will be streamed live on Cricket South Africa’s YouTube channel.