South Africa tour of India: Mandhana, Kaur centuries help hosts seal ODI series in a thriller
Pooja Vastrakar defended 11 runs in the final over as India took an unassailable 2-0 in the ODI series.
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Pooja Vastrakar struck twice in the final over of the match and outfoxed an in form Laura Wolvaardt with a slower ball as India beat a resurgent South Africa by four runs in the at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
The win helped the Harmanpreet Kaur led side to a take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
Asked to chase a whopping 326 to win after opting to bowl first, South Africa rode on the back of stunning centuries from captain Wolvaardt (135*) and Marizanne Kapp (114) to give India a scare before finishing short.
Having joined hands with the visitors struggling at 67-3, Wolvaardt and Kapp stitched a 184-run stand in 170 deliveries for the fourth wicket, before the latter was prized out by Deepti Sharma in the 43rd over, thanks to a well judged catch by Vastrakar inches away from the boundary rope.
The end of Kapp’s 94-ball stay with 11 boundaries and three sixes bought India back into the contest and they closed off the match despite a vital 69-run stand between Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk (28), who was Vastrakar’s first victim in the final over.
Wolvaardt, who was the more cautious of the two centurions during the chase, took 119 balls...
