IND W vs SA W: Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur 100s propel India to 325 runs in Bengaluru

What a game it was, where India's captain and vice-captain, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, both put on a terrific show by scoring centuries in the 2nd ODI against South Africa at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, India had an extremely slow start in the batting PowerPlay, facing as many as 49 dot balls, making it seem unlikely they would reach a competitive total.

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However, after the dismissals of Shafali Verma (20 off 38) and Dayalan Hemalatha (24 off 41), Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur accelerated, taking on the South African bowlers aggressively. They also had some luck, as both batters were dropped before reaching their centuries. Fans took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to praise the two batters.

The pair added 171 runs off 136 balls before Smriti was finally dismissed for 136 runs off 120 balls. She smashed 18 fours and two sixes, marking back-to-back centuries after scoring 117 runs at the same venue previously.

Meanwhile, Harmanpreet continued to build her innings and found a good partner in Richa Ghosh. The Indian captain entered the 90s and had to wait while Richa attacked the bowlers. Harmanpreet completed her century 103 off 88) off the penultimate ball of the innings.

For the Proteas women, Nonkululeko Mlaba picked up two wickets, while Masabata Klaas had one to her name, which wasn't enough as India set a target of 326 runs after losing just 3 wickets in 50 overs.

Teams:

India Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Asha Sobhana

South Africa Women (Playing XI): Laura Wolvaardt(c), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Nondumiso Shangase, Mieke de Ridder(w), Masabata Klaas, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka.

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