Snehasis Mukherjee in Visakhapatnam
Richa Ghosh’s dazzling 94 off 77 balls helped India post 251 against South Africa in Vizag. Two games in a row, Richa has done it with the bat. Against Pakistan, her unbeaten 35 helped India reach a competitive total in Colombo. And now in Vizag, her fighting knock kept the home team alive in the contest.
A crucial 51-run partnership between Amanjot Kaur and Richa for the seventh wicket, followed by an 88-run stand between Richa and Sneh Rana for the eighth, lifted India past the 250-run mark.
The toss was delayed by an hour due to rain, and play began at 4 PM IST instead of 3 PM. It was a vital toss given the overcast conditions but, unfortunately, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur lost it. South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt opted to bowl first.
All eyes were on the opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal. Pratika started confidently, while Mandhana struggled to find rhythm, with little to no foot movement while playing her shots.
Despite her struggles, Mandhana survived the powerplay as the pair crossed the 50-run mark. Their 55-run stand ended when Nonkululeko Mlaba dismissed Mandhana for 23 (32 balls). Harleen Deol, coming in at No. 3, managed 13 off 23 before Mlaba squared her up, rattling her stumps with sharp turn.
Then came the collapse. It began with the soft dismissal of Pratika for 37 off 56, as Tumi Sekhukhune picked up her wicket. Once again, Pratika started well but lost momentum and threw away her wicket trying to accelerate
Left-arm spinner Chloe Tryon then caused chaos. She dismissed Harmanpreet for nine and Jemimah Rodrigues for a four-ball duck. For Harmanpreet, it was another familiar dismissal — trying to hit against the spin, away from her body, and gifting a simple catch to Marizanne Kapp.
Yesterday, in the optional training session, Jemimah had focused on sweep shots after getting out LBW to one against Pakistan. But today, history repeated itself — she fell LBW again attempting the same shot, adding more frustration to her campaign.
Wolvaardt then brought back Kapp after a quiet opening spell, and the veteran struck immediately, removing Deepti Sharma. India had crumbled from 91/2 to 102/6, losing four wickets for just 11 runs.
At that stage, South Africa were completely on top. Their fielding was outstanding — sharp, alert, and full of intent. They saved at least three to four certain boundaries with brilliant efforts.
But India fought back again through Richa. Her partnerships with Amanjot (13) and, later, a spirited Sneh (33 off 24) added valuable runs. A few dropped catches by South Africa helped too, as India finished with a fighting total.
However, the repeated collapses remain a serious concern. In three consecutive games, India have lost clusters of wickets in quick succession.
Against Sri Lanka, four wickets fell for four runs (120/2 to 124/6). Against Pakistan, twice they lost back-to-back wickets (151/3 to 159/5 and 201/5 to 203/7). And today, against South Africa, another collapse.
In Guwahati, it was the Amanjot-Deepti partnership that rescued India. In Colombo, Richa stepped up. And today again, it was Richa’s brilliance that bailed the team out. But how long can this continue?
Despite a heroic knock in Vizag, one question echoes loud — when will India’s batting find stability?
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