Third ODI: How Lizelle Lee’s terrific ton trumped India’s inconsistent bowling

After the first two One-Day Internationals were one-sided and levelled the series, the third match between India and South Africa went down to the wire… till the covers came on.

Till 46.3 overs of the second innings, it really felt like anyone’s game. India had made a solid 248, their highest first innings total at home since 2013, and South Africa needed 26 from 21. One good over for either team could have changed everything. But a sudden storm brought in rain and the thriller ended prematurely.

Lizelle Lee scored a sensational century to help a depleted South Africa – with four changes to the team – win by the DLS method by six runs. The opener’s unbeaten 132 was one of her finest knocks and a masterclass in planning a steep run chase. She never let the required rate climb or her strike rate dip, treating India’s bowling with the right degree of caution and aggression.

Without taking anything away from Lee’s career-best innings, the rain-hit win was also helped by India’s inconsistency with the ball. This was India’s highest ever first innings total in a home ODI that ended in a loss and it was down to more than terrific batting.

At the time the rain came in, the visitors were ahead by six runs. Those six runs virtually came in the previous over, when Lee smashed part-timer Harmanpreet Kaur for back-to-back boundaries. The reason why the off-spinner was bowling her fourth over at such a crucial stage was because pacer Mansi Joshi had been erratic and expensive, giving away 43 runs in five overs.

Failing to capitalise

Just like this crucial over, there were multiple moments in the second innings where the Indian bowling unit’s inconsistency underlined South Africa’s fightback. They were just not able to maintain scoreboard pressure despite a good target. The starkest of those moments came in the latter half of the innings, when Lee was well set.

Consider these two instances:

After the first over of the batting powerplay, South Africa looked good at 178/2 with Lee bringing up her century with a six. The partnership between Lee and veteran Mignon du Preez – two of the most prolific batters in the Proteas lineup – nearing the three-figure mark.

On the second ball of the 37th over, Rajeshwari Gayakwad got the breakthrough and du Preez (37) was dismissed. Jhulan Goswami struck in the next over removing Marizanne Kapp (0) as South Africa lost two wickets in 10 balls. The pressure grew on Lee with an inexperienced Anneke Bosch at the other end and 67 required from 60 balls.

But India had a different issue. With nine overs to go, Mithali Raj was low on options. There were five overs from Joshi, three from Deepti Sharma and only one each from Jhulan Goswami, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Poonam Yadav with Harmanpreet as the part-timer.

Two overs later, Deepti Sharma bowled a maiden over to Lizelle Lee to give India a huge advantage.

The next over was the last from Poonam Yadav, who had been wicketless so far in the series. After one run on the first four balls, she bowled one loose delivery and Lee came down the track to smash it over long-on for a six. The next over from Deepti started slow but a wide-ish ball down the leg side caught the bat and a bit of wicketkeeper Sushma Verma’s foot to race to the fine leg boundary for four. The next over, from Harmanpreet, sealed the deal with two boundaries.

Twice in the last 10 overs India had a chance to go for the kill. Twice, Lee neutralised India’s experienced bowling lineup with just smart, confident batting: Defend the good balls, punish the bad ones.

Spin a cause for concern

Captain Mithali Raj said as much in the post-match chat. “We need to work on the bowling, we need consistency there. Our bowlers were bowling on both sides of the wicket and need more focus,” she said, while adding that they could have done better with the bat.

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While factoring in that this is India’s first international series in a year, it cannot be forgotten that this is just one of the few matches the team will have in preparation for next year’s ODI World Cup and any problem areas have to be addressed at once. India’s spin bowling – generally their biggest weapon – is one such cause for concern. The pace department has the experience of Goswami to hold an end down, at least.

The ongoing series has seen the highest strike rate for Indian spinners in a bilateral home ODI series and overall the third highest after the 1978 World Cup and 2013 World Cup. This is also the first time in her ODI career that Poonam Yadav has gone wicketless in three consecutive innings. (0/34 (10), 0/30 (8), 0/51 (10).) Granted, Lee was dropped off her bowling by Goswami when she was on 80, but it’s still a blip for someone so successful in her last outing – the T20 World Cup.

Lee, in the post-match press conference, said that the pitch was good for batting and she didn’t have a specific game plan for Indian spinners but to play her natural game. The 28-year-old is a solid player of spin and can attack without having to move down the pitch too much. She showed the same in her unbeaten fifty in the first match. Then, India had set a target of just 177 and the chasing side’s ease was understandable. But when a team missing its regular captain and two of their premier batters can chase down 248 in India, it is back to the drawing room for Mithali Raj and Co.

The next match on Sunday will be crucial for the series and India will hope to bounce back like they did in the second. For that to happen, the onus will be on the experienced bowling attack.