Women’s T20I World Cup: South Africa spoil India skipper Harmanpreet’s 200th game with clinical win
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Women’s T20I World Cup: South Africa spoil India skipper Harmanpreet’s 200th game with clinical win")
T20I World Cup South Africa spoil Harmanpreet’s 200th game with clinical win Photograph: (Others)
Marizanne Kapp's sensational unbeaten 81 spoiled skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s historic 200th T20I match as South Africa defeated India by six wickets in a thrilling Group A Women's T20 World Cup clash in Manchester.
South Africa spoiled Harmanpreet Kaur’s 200th T20I game as they beat the title contenders, India, by six wickets in their Group A Women's T20 World Cup clash on Sunday (Jun 21). Unbeaten until this game, India looked uncharacteristically sloppy on the field and failed to make the most of the chances. As a result, they lost the match but remain second on the points table, behind Australia, who are unbeaten after three games.
Harmanpreet Kaur made history with her 200th appearance for India in this format, becoming the first player, in men’s or women’s cricket, to achieve this feat. She also captained India for the 200th time across all formats, becoming the first Indian to do so. While she wanted to make the most of this monumental feat by extending India’s unbeaten run to three games, a loss at the hands of the Proteas will bring them back to the drawing board and rightly so.
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Sharing disappointment over this loss, Harmanpreet said, “We got a couple of chances in between but couldn't take those chances. We have two matches, and this is the time to stay positive. Shree Charani and Shafali bowled well, but the fielders didn't support them. We have to take opportunities at this level.
“We were not lucky enough with that. We have two matches, and this is the time to think about that. We will sit and rethink what to do and then will see the changes to be done,” she added.
India batted first after winning the toss, with Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana adding 30 for the first wicket. The two departed inside the Powerplay, with Verma scoring 31 off 15 balls. The middle order looked sluggish on the Manchester track, with only captain Harmanpreet and all-rounder Deepti Sharma getting into the 20s afterwards.
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India scored 158 for seven in the first innings, with Marizanne Kapp returning with two wickets.
Kapp’s show steals Harman’s spotlight
Kapp backed up her clinical bowling display with a brilliant, unbeaten 81 off 45 balls to see her side home with six wickets to spare. The renowned all-rounder smashed seven fours and four sixes, with opener Tazmin Brits also scoring 40 in 36 deliveries to help the cause.
“It was a tough game. Playing India is always tough. And I am very proud of the way the team came back. I was just praying, to be honest. I do well if I am in earlier. I struggled in the first few balls. The partnership with Taz set us up beautifully. We said it is a tough place to bat because you can't let it get too far, but you also can't lose too many wickets. We had the big hitters in the back-end and just wanted to put our heads down,” the Player of the Match, Kapp, said.
