Highlights of T20 World Cup:
- India beat South Africa by 28 runs.
- They secured victories in both warm-up games, against West Indies and South Africa.
- India will face New Zealand in their Group A match on October 4.
At T20 World Cup The Indian team ended their warm-up games on a high note with a well-deserved win over South Africa at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai on October 1. These back-to-back wins set a strong foundation ahead of the main tournament. After a 20-run victory against West Indies, India followed it up with a commanding performance against South Africa in T20 World Cup. Winning the toss, South Africa opted to bowl and quickly put pressure on India. Shafali Verma was dismissed without scoring, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur was out for just 10 runs.
At a crucial moment, Jemimah Rodrigues stepped in to partner with Smriti Mandhana. Jemimah, who had hit a half-century in the previous match, scored 30 runs and added 40 runs to the partnership with Mandhana. Despite this, India soon found themselves struggling at 67/4. Richa Ghosh then played a key role, taking the attack to South Africa’s bowlers with a counter-attacking knock. Deepti Sharma supported her well, and together they put on a 70-run stand in just 50 balls. Richa’s 36 from 25 balls, with two sixes and two boundaries, along with Deepti’s unbeaten 35, helped India reach a competitive total of 149. South Africa’s Ayabonga Khaka took three wickets in the final over to prevent India from reaching 150.
India’s bowlers then took control at T 20 World Cup. Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Singh, and Arundhati Reddy kept things tight in the early overs. Asha Sobhana got the first breakthrough right after the powerplay, and South Africa’s batting began to falter. From 37/0, they slumped to 66/4. Despite Chloe Tryon’s 24 off 20 balls and Annerie Dercksen’s 21 off 16 balls, South Africa could only manage 116/9 in their 20 overs.
India experimented with nine bowling options, including part-timers Harmanpreet Kaur and Shafali Verma, both of whom took a wicket each. In T20 World Cup Asha Sobhana was the standout bowler, picking up two wickets for 21 runs in her three overs.
With two strong wins in their warm-up games, India is now ready to take on New Zealand in their Group A opener on October 4 in Dubai, brimming with confidence.