India Women take 3-0 lead after Radha, Harmanpreet show in fifth T20I

A fine bowling performance from the Indian spinners choked the run flow as the South African women's team struggled to get going, eventually managing just 98 runs on a sluggish track in the fifth T20I at Surat on Thursday.

The game, added in the schedule to make up for the two successive washed out encounters, allowed India to go 3-0 up in the six-match series after they had won the first and fourth matches convincingly. The second and third T20Is had been abandoned due to excess rain.

Chasing a below-par total of 99, the Indian Eves were led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur who stayed unbeaten on 34 and saw the team till the end. She shared a 50-run partnership with all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who had also starred with the ball, giving away just 19 runs in her four overs for two wickets.

Harman also became the eighth cricketer and only the second Indian after Mithali Raj to cross the 2000-run mark in T20I cricket during her knock.

Earlier, the match was set up beautifully by the Indian tweakers, who repaid the trust shown by Harmanpreet after she decided to bowl first. The new ball duo of Deepti and Shikha Pandey kept bowling nagging lines to curb the run flow, which increased the pressure on the Proteas side.

Radha Yadav then showed her skills in the middle overs, as the batters were unable to navigate her googlies and clever variations. She finished with 3 for 23, as South Africa ended with a score of less than 100, with no player unable to cross 20 in the innings.

In reply, the Indians got off to a shaky start and were reduced to 29 for 3, before a calm Harmanpreet steadied the ship and took her side over the line. India have now taken an unassailable 3-0 lead, with a game to go.

Brief scores: South Africa Women 98/8 in 20 overs (Radha 3-23, Deepti 2-19) lost to India Women 99/5 in 17.1 overs (Harmanpreet 34*, Shabnim 2-19) by five wickets