LUCKNOW, March 9: Veteran Jhulan Goswami’s four-wicket haul was beautifully complemented by Smriti Mandhana’s sparkling 80 not out as Indian women outplayed South Africa by nine wickets in the second ODI to level the five-match series 1-1 here on Tuesday.
The 38-year-old Goswami returned with figures of 10-0-42-4 and she was ably supported by fellow seamer Mansi Joshi (2/23) and left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (3/37) as India dismissed South Africa for a paltry 157 after opting to field.
Opener Mandhana and Punam Raut then shared an unbeaten 138-run partnership for the second wicket with India overhauling the target in only 28.4 overs to bounce back from their eight-wicket loss in the first ODI.
Mandhana blasted 10 fours and three sixes while Raut dropped anchor at one end but also hit eight boundaries.
Mandhana made her intentions clear right from the start when she clubbed the first two balls of her innings for sixes off Shabnim Ismail.
However, India lost an early wicket when Jemimah Rodrigues dragged one to the stumps in the fifth over.
While Indian women have not played for a year before the ongoing series, Jemimah’s poor form dates back to the World T20 time as she hasn’t been amongst runs for a considerable period of time.
In the 20th over, Mandhana picked up successive fours to get to her fifty in style, while Raut crossed the 50-mark with an innovative short behind the keeper.
Mandhana eventually scored the winning runs with successive fours in the 29th over.
Earlier, Lara Goodall was the most successful batswoman for South Africa as she scored a 77-ball 49, while skipper Sune Luus chipped in with a 57-ball 36.
Electing to field, the Indian pacers were rewarded for bowling a probing line as Goswami and Joshi made early breakthroughs, dismissing openers Lizelle Lee and Laura Wolvaardt cheaply.
Luus and Goodall then added 60 runs but Joshi returned to dismiss the South Africa skipper in the 21st over.
The spinners then took control of the proceedings as Deepti Sharma and Gayakwad bowled in tandem.
India skipper Mithali Raj made some excellent bowling changes as Goswami returned to get rid of Marizanne Kapp and India vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur cleaned up Goodall in her first delivery, reducing South Africa to 130 for 6.
Goswami struck twice in the 38th over, cleaning up Nadine de Klerk and Shabnim Ismail to reduce South Africa to 144 for 8.
Chetty was later dismissed by Gayakwad, who also accounted for Nonkululeko Mlaba. (PTI)
