While opening partner Shafali Verma contributed a stroke-filled 34, the vice-captain of India, Smriti Mandhna, produced an absolute masterclass with 117 from 127 balls—her sixth ODI hundred—to have India off to a thumping start in this multi-format series against South Africa with a dominating 143-run win at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
After having batted first on a tricky pitch, where the ball was rising and swinging, India were in dire straits at 99/5. The way Mandhana anchored the innings, playing all kinds of shots to take India to a respectable score, was simply brilliant. Thanks to Deepti Sharma's 37 and Pooja Vastrakar's 31—she got able support for—India managed to make it to 265/8 in their 50 overs.
South Africa never got into the chase, mainly because of a fine debutant performance by leg-spinner Asha Sobhana, who returned figures of 4 wickets for 21 runs. Her fine bowling efforts, aided by Deepti Sharma and others, saw South Africa being dismissed for 122 in 37.4 overs.
The key moments were the early dismissal of skipper Laura Wolvaardt by Renuka Singh Thakur and, thereafter, important breakthroughs achieved by Pooja Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma. Sune Luus did resist with 33, but South Africa faltered due to scoreboard pressure, thereby handing India a convincing victory.
The innings by Mandhana not only saved India but set records; she became the second Indian woman cricketer to cross more than 7000 runs in all international cricket and also eclipsed the previous best ODI score of any Indian woman, an erstwhile record held by Mithali Raj.
This performance demonstrated India's domination in the first ODI, where Mandhana's century and Sobhana's heroics on her debut paved the way for them, as this start should give their campaign the momentum needed in depth and resilience in both departments: batting and bowling.
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