Johannesburg, April 26 (IANS) India’s World Cup champion Deepti Sharma said she always had belief in herself and trusted her hard work after delivering a match-winning all-round performance to help the team defeat South Africa by 14 runs in the fourth T20I played at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.

“First of all, you guys have so much belief in me, and I also have belief in myself that I’ll have to come back harder, because I know that the team really needs me. And if you don’t do well at that crucial time, that thing stays in your mind,” Deepti said in a video released by BCCI on X.

Deepti backed that confidence with a stellar show, scoring an unbeaten 36 to guide India to 185/5, alongside key contributions from Jemimah Rodrigues (43) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (22). Deepti then turned the game with the ball, returning figures of 5/19 to restrict South Africa to 171/9.

“It feels really good. Whenever you take a fifer as a bowler, and take your first fifer against your favourite team, it always feels good,” she added.

India recovered from early setbacks through a 55-run stand between Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur before Deepti stitched an unbeaten 65-run partnership with Richa Ghosh (34*) to provide a strong finish.

Chasing 186, South Africa started brightly through Sune Luus (40) and Tazmin Brits (30), but Deepti’s timely breakthroughs triggered a collapse as the hosts fell short. Deepti credited her preparation, especially with captain Harmanpreet in the nets, which helped her improve her mistakes and come back stronger with the bat.

“I just wanted to score a good knock, a good spell, so that we can bring the team to a good margin and get good results. That was it. And I was believing in my hard work,” she said. “And I think, yesterday, with Harry, the work I did in the nets, even the smallest things, if you correct them, it helps you a lot,” she added.

The win helped India avoid a whitewash in the five-match series, though South Africa still lead 3-1. The final T20I will be played at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Monday.

–IANS

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