Durban, April 17 (IANS) Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur excelled by hitting 47 and sharing a solid 71-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues, but a late batting collapse meant India managed to post only 157/7 in their 20 overs against South Africa in the women’s T20I series opener at the Kingsmead Stadium on Friday.

Sent into batting first on a very dry pitch, India got off to a flier thanks to Shafali Verma’s 20-ball 34, but the Proteas clawed back in the back end (including conceding 10 runs off the last two overs) through Ayabonga Khaka, who finished with stellar figures of 3-16 and found good support from Tumi Sekhukhune and Nonkululeko Mlaba.

Shafali was in her element from the onset, smashing Sune Luus for a six and a four in the opening over before taking the attack to Ayabonga and Tumi. But the momentum shifted when Tumi induced a mistimed heave from Shafali in the fifth over and was caught at deep midwicket. Smriti Mandhana (13) followed shortly after, driving Ayabonga straight to cover, leaving India at 48/2 at the end of the Powerplay.

The experienced pair of Harmanpreet and Rodrigues (36 off 29 balls) then steadied the ship through their steady stand. While they initially focused on strike rotation, the duo broke shackles in the 12th over by taking 15 runs off Nadine de Klerk.

Jemimah, despite being shaky, looked elegant with her inside-out drives, while Harmanpreet used her power well to clear the ropes. But the dismissal of Rodrigues in the 15th over, caught brilliantly by a diving Sune off Tumi, triggered a slide for India.

With Ayabonga changing her pace well, Richa Ghosh and Arundhati Reddy fell cheaply, while debutant Kashvee Gautam’s brief cameo ended with her being cleaned up by Nonkululeko.

A chaotic run-out on the penultimate ball involving Shreyanka Patil further dented the visitors, as they lost four wickets for just 33 runs in the final five overs. Harmanpreet also struggled to time the ball towards the latter part of her stay at the crease, as India’s quest to reach 170 ended in them falling short of getting to 160 by three runs.

Brief scores:

India 157/7 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 47 not out, Jemimah Rodrigues 36; Ayabonga Khaka 3-16, Tumi Sekhukhune 2-27) against South Africa

–IANS

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