India out of the Women’s World Cup following three-wicket loss to South Africa

India crashed out of the Women’s World Cup after suffering a heart-breaking three-wicket defeat to South Africa in its must-win last league match, which went down to the wire here on Sunday.

Smriti Mandhana (71 off 84 balls, 6 fours, 1 six), Shafali Verma (53 off 46 balls, 8 fours) and skipper Mithali Raj (68 off 84 balls, 8 fours) struck half-centuries to guide India to a competitive total of 274 for seven. South Africa did just enough to secure its fifth victory in the first round, heading into the semi-finals on a winning note.

The match lasted the full distance despite India’s average bowling and fielding, with off-spinner Deepti Sharma required to defend seven runs in the final over. A well-set Mignon du Preez (52 not out off 63 balls, 2 fours) was caught in the deep off the penultimate delivery but moments later, the umpires ruled that Deepti had overstepped.

Needing one run from the last ball, du Preez got the job done for South Africa (11 points), which finished second behind topper Australia (14 points) in the league stage. Besides Australia and South Africa, third-placed England (8 points) and fourth-placed West Indies (7 points) made the cut for the semi-finals.

An inconsistent India (6 points) finished fifth in the table with three wins and four losses. South Africa was cruising in its run-chase of 275 as Laura Wolvaardt (80 off 79 balls, 11 fours) and Lara Goodall (49 off 69 balls, 4 fours) added 125 runs for the second wicket.

Veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami missing the crucial match due to a side strain made the task easier for the South Africans. But, a double strike from Harmanpreet Kaur (2/42) brought India back into the contest as she clean bowled Wolvaardt and trapped rival captain Sune Luus (22 off 27 balls, 1 four) lbw with her probing off-spin.

Harmanpreet had got rid of opener Lizelle Lee (6) with a brilliant direct hit, giving India the initial breakthrough. South Africa needed 45 runs off the last five overs as du Preez, who was dropped by Mandhana, and Chloe Tryon (17 off 9 balls, 3 fours) took their team close to the finish line. Meanwhile, Marizanne Kapp contributed a useful 30-ball 32 (3 fours).

Earlier, Mandhana shared 91 and 80 runs with her opening partner Shafali and Mithali respectively to lay the foundation. Harmanpreet made 48 off 57 deliveries (4 fours), but India could not score at a healthy rate in the final overs.

BRIEF SCORES: India Women 274/7 in 50 overs (S Mandhana 71, Mithali 68, Shafali 53, Harmanpreet 48) lost to South Africa Women 275/7 in 50 overs (L Wolvaardt 80, M du Preez 52*, L Goodall 49)