Lagatar24 Desk
Christchurch, March 27: In a last-over thriller against India at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Sunday, South Africa won by three wickets. With this loss, India did not qualify for the semi-finals as West Indies edged them out by one point in the points table.
Deepti Sharma kept things close in the final over, capturing a wicket on a no-ball that resulted in a free-hit. The South African batsmen took full advantage of it, winning the match on the final ball. Mignon du Preez, who was not out on 52, was instrumental in the chase.
Notably, Australia, South Africa, England, and the West Indies have qualified for the final four and will face each other in the semi-finals.
Harmanpreet Kaur was a tremendous boost for India on all fronts, taking two key wickets, inflicting two beautiful run-outs, and scoring 48 runs with the bat to complete a fantastic all-round performance. Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, and Mithali Raj all got fifties in the first innings to help India reach 274/7 in 50 overs. In their respective final XIs, India and South Africa each made two changes. For India, Meghna Singh replaced Jhulan Goswami, while Deepti Sharma replaced Punam Yadav. For South Africa, Lara Goodall replaced Tazmin Brits, and Masabata Klaas replaced Tumi Sekhukhune.
Playing XI:
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj(c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh(w), Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
South Africa: Lizelle Lee, Laura Wolvaardt, Lara Goodall, Sune Luus(c), Mignon du Preez, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Trisha Chetty(w), Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka
