Vadodara: The India women’s team rode on a clinical effort both with the bat and ball as they outclassed South Africa by eight wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series here on Wednesday.
While Jhulan Goswami (3/33), Shikha Pandey (2/38), Ekta Bisht (2/28) and Poonam Yadav (2/33) starred with the ball, openers Priya Punia (75 not out) and Jemimah Rodrigues (55) made noticeable contributions with the bat to help India clinch a comfortable win at the Reliance Stadium.
Opting to bat, South Africa were off to a poor start and the Indian bowlers kept on jolting them at regular intervals. Laura Wolvaardt (39) and Marizanne Kapp (54) were the only two batswomen who showed some fight to help South Africa reach a moderate total of 164 before they were wrapped up in 45.1 overs.
Chasing the target, Punia — who was making her ODI debut — and Rodrigues helped India comfortably reach their side to the target in 41.4 overs.
