On Sunday, India suffered a heartbreaking exit from the ongoing ICC Women's World Cup after South Africa held their nerves to chase down a steep target of 275-run. They managed to achieve the target in the final delivery of the match at Christchurch to help West Indies qualify for the semifinal.
Agonizingly, it took a no-ball from Deepti Sharma in the final over of the game, which put an end to their World Cup hopes. West Indies have now joined Australia, South Africa and England in the semifinal of the marquee tournament.
Earlier, Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana and skipper Mithali Raj hit half-centuries to set the platform for India to put up a competitive total of 274 runs for seven at the Hagley Oval. South Africa chased down the target in the final ball, with Laura Wolvaardt (80), Mignon du Preez (52 not out) and Lara Goodall (49) scoring the most of the runs.
India chose to bat first in the high-pressure game while South Africa took the field after having already qualified for the semifinals. Shafali (53 off 46) and Smriti (71 off 84) got off to a flying start, adding a 91-run stand, coming off 90 balls for the opening wicket. Mithali Raj also steadied the ship in between with a steady fifty before Harmanpreet Kaur scored 48 off 57 balls towards the innings.
While Shafali took charge, Smriti played second fiddle. Finally, Shafali took on Shabnim Ismail, hitting three boundaries off her second over. Her entertaining innings included eight fours. The youngster hit her first fifty of the competition with a boundary over mid-on off Masabata Klaas.
With the way both the openers were going, India looked to score about 300 for the second time in the tournament. However, India lost Verma in a mess before number three batter Yastika Bhatia also got out in a bizarre fashion. While there was a miscommunication over a quick single on the leg side between Shafali and Smriti, Yastika played a sweep shot onto her stumps off Chloe Tryon, leaving India at 96 for two from 91 for no loss as well.
Then Mithali and Mandhana started to steady the ship to regain the lost momentum, while Shabnim returned with a bang. She used the bouncer brilliantly to put pressure on Raj. After having started slow, Mithali soon changed the gear, and with a few big shots, she released the pressure.
Later, she and Harmanpreet took the team to reach 223 for three in 40 overs. However, only 51 runs were scored off the last ten overs for the loss of four wickets as India failed to put up 300 on the board. Captain Mithali Raj scored her fifty in a crucial game at the same venue where she scored her maiden World Cup half-century 22 years ago.
While chasing, South Africa received a big blow as the opener Lizelle Lee was dismissed by a direct throw from Kaur. But Laura Wolvaardt and Lara Goodall steadied the ship with timely boundaries and constant singles. The duo added 125 runs, as Wolvaardt smashed another half-century in the tournament. Just when it seemed that the game was slipping out of India's hand, Rajeshwari Gayakwad broke the stand by removing Goodall, and soon Harmanpreet bowled Laura out. Sune Luus too scored before the veteran Mignon du Preez showed her class.
Alongside Kapp, she added 47 runs before becoming victim of a run-out. Later a quickfire cameo from Chloe Tryon and Du Preez's unbeaten 52 took the team home on the final ball.
Brief scores: India 274/7 in 50 overs (Smriti Mandhana 71, Mithali Raj 68, Shafali Verma 53; Shabnim Ismail 2-42, Masabata Klaas 2-38)) lost to South Africa 275/7 in 50 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 80, Mignon du Preez 52*, Harmanpreet Kaur 2-42, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2-62) by three wickets.