Rain Disrupts Exciting Contest After South Africa Sets 177 in Chennai T20I
Rain forced the second women’s Twenty20 international between South Africa and India in Chennai to conclude early, despite South Africa scoring a strong 177 for 6.
A good match was set up by Tazmin Brits and Anneke Bosch, who each scored 52 and 40 runs in pivotal innings.
No result South Africa 177 for 6 (Brits 52, Bosch 40) vs India.
Due to persistent nighttime drizzle in Chennai, the second Twenty20 International between South Africa and India was called off midway through, spoiling the end of what could have been an exciting match.
It was the kind of downpour that, in most cases, wouldn’t cause players to withdraw. But right around the innings break came the sharpest spell of the evening, a continuous five-minute drizzle that compelled the ground personnel to cover the field. But for the following hour, it kept mizzling on and off, so the umpires had to turn it off.
After their impressive 177 for 6 on Sunday night, South Africa could be reasonably content after a second successful outing with the bat, following their 189 for 6 two nights prior. India, who made as many as four changes to their XI, were left with more questions than answers.
They have a chance to win the series going into Tuesday’s series decider, which would be a noteworthy outcome given that this is their penultimate game before the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September.
In 1948–49, Assam participated in its first internal competition. They produced their first India player (Riyan Parag) after nearly 76 years (Uma Chetry, the 21-year-old wicketkeeper, was given a cap on Sunday while Richa Ghosh was out with a concussion.
Chetry got to work nearly right away. The best scorer from the previous two nights, Tazmin Brits, ran down to a Sajana Sajeevan slider, and everyone believed she had pulled off a brilliant stumping. Chetry was in some pain even as she joyfully celebrated her first ejection from the umpire.
When Chetry caught the ball, a very small portion of her glove was in front of the stumps, meaning that the Brits were not only not out but also awarded a free hit. After that, the British continued to score runs, eventually reaching a 36-ball half-century, mostly looking flawless.
She struggled in the first over of the series, taking nine balls to get off the start and limping to a run-a-ball 25 after ten overs, until a stunning late acceleration saw her reach 81 off 56 balls.
With three consecutive boundaries off the third over, South Africa’s captain Laura Wolvaardt relieved any early strain on the team. She was very good at timing and placing herself such that she could thread even the smallest gaps on the off-side ring. Each of them had a great visual appeal.
Arundhati Reddy, who came in for Renuka Singh in the XI, had a rough start and she would also be fortunate to survive a leading edge that almost burst to point.
However, Wolvaardt’s batting was cut off short of time when she fell to Radha Yadav’s capable hands at backward point, allowing Pooja Vastrakar to end a risky opening partnership in the fifth over. Wolvaardt contributed a solid 12-ball 22 to the 43-run partnership.
Also Read: South Africa Clinch First Victory of India Tour with Brits and Kapp Fifties in The First T20I
Like she did the other night, Marizanne Kapp settled in quickly. She opened the powerplay with two powerful knocks down the ground, greeting Delhi Capitals teammate Yadav, and South Africa finished on 66 for 1. However, India refused to give up and skillfully retaliated with their spinners, particularly Deepti Sharma.
Getting balls to bounce off a length while deftly altering her pace was something Deepti accomplished that the other spinners were unable to do. In an attempt to step out and strike through the line to one such delivery, Kapp failed and found Sajana at mid-off. Then, with legspinner Asha Sobhana replaced by Shreyanka Patil, India managed to sneak in a few tight overs.
It took Anneke Bosch a bit to get used to the speed of the surface, but the fact that South Africa had British bring up the fifty-year mark was helpful. Then, as Bosch charged Deepti, Chetry redeemed herself by stumping her, only to be defeated by a fast turn. To her credit, Chetry managed to effect the stumping by remaining low and retrieving the ball at shin height.
As Chloe Tryon timidly flung a return catch to Radha, India then managed to prise out the dangerous player, making it almost a double-strike. South Africa needed a strong finish to get close to the 189 they scored on Friday, as they were 131 for 4 in 15 overs. They didn’t get that until the 19th, when Bosch more than made up for a slow start by hitting four fours in a 20-run over against Shreyanka, who finished with a 32-ball 40.
Before the rain came down and ended what could have been an entertaining chase, Annerie Dercksen took South Africa to 177 after finishing the innings in a blaze of boundaries, three of which came off Vastrakar.
