IND-W vs SA-W: Jemimah Rodrigues' century powers India to 23-run win over South Africa, to face Sri Lanka in final

India secured a spot in the title clash of the women's Tri-Nation ODI series by defeating South Africa by 23 runs. Jemimah Rodrigues' career-best century, along with half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, propelled India to a formidable total of 337 for 9. Despite Annerie Dercksen's valiant 81-run knock and Chloe Tryon's 67, South Africa could only manage 314/7 in response.

Led by Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma, India's bowlers put up a strong performance to secure the victory. India finished the round-robin phase with six points from four games, setting up a title clash with Sri Lanka, who have four points from three games.

Unfortunately, South Africa, after suffering three consecutive losses, are out of contention for the title. India's batting prowess was on full display, with Jemimah Rodrigues anchoring the innings with her second ODI hundred. She formed crucial partnerships with Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma, guiding India to a 300-plus total.

Facing a daunting run-chase, South Africa suffered an early setback with the loss of opener Lara Goodall for just 7 runs in the second over. However, Tazmin Brits and Miane Smit managed to stabilize the innings with a 63-run partnership for the second wicket, taking the team to 70/2 by the 15th over.

Annerie Dercksen, a key top-order batter, played a crucial role in trying to accelerate the scoring rate with her impressive knock of 81 off 80 balls. Her partnership of 72 runs for the sixth wicket with stand-in captain Chloe Tryon (67 off 43 balls) provided some hope for South Africa. However, as the required run rate continued to rise steadily, they struggled to keep up.

With just two overs remaining and South Africa at 299/6, the match was temporarily halted due to poor light. Once play resumed, Tryon and Nadine de Klerk managed to add 15 more runs to the total. Unfortunately, their efforts fell short on the day. India's dominant performance sets the stage for an exciting title clash against Sri Lanka.

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