South Africa Women continued their commanding run in the T20I series with a resounding nine-wicket victory over India Women in the third match at The Wanderers Stadium. Chasing a daunting target of 193, the hosts made it look effortless, riding on a sensational century from Laura Wolvaardt to seal the game in just 16.3 overs. With this win, South Africa have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series, asserting complete dominance over the visitors.
Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur help India post competitive total
After being put in to bat, India Women produced a strong batting performance to post 192/4 in their 20 overs. The innings was built on aggressive intent from the top order, with Shafali Verma leading the charge through a fluent 64 off 46 balls, laced with eight boundaries and two sixes. Smriti Mandhana provided a brisk start with 37 off 25, ensuring India capitalized on the powerplay.
The innings gained further momentum through skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who played a captain’s knock of 66 off just 38 deliveries. Her innings, studded with seven fours and three sixes, kept the scoreboard ticking at a rapid pace. Richa Ghosh added the finishing touches with a quickfire 18 off 10 balls. Despite the strong total, India would have hoped for slightly more after losing only four wickets.
For South Africa, Nonkululeko Mlaba stood out with the ball, picking up two wickets while maintaining control in the middle overs. Nadine de Klerk chipped in with a wicket, but the rest of the bowling unit struggled to contain India’s attacking batters.
Laura Wolvaardt’s blazing century breaks India’s spirit
In response, South Africa Women delivered one of their finest T20 chases, powered by a breathtaking innings from Wolvaardt. The opener was in sublime touch, smashing 115 off just 53 balls, including 14 fours and five towering sixes. Her strokeplay was clean, authoritative, and relentless, leaving the Indian bowlers with no answers.
She found an able partner in Sune Luus, who played a composed yet impactful knock of 64 off 42 balls. The duo stitched together a massive partnership that completely took the game away from India. The only breakthrough came when Tazmin Brits fell cheaply, but by then, the damage had already been done.
India’s bowling attack struggled to make any impact, with none of the frontline bowlers able to pick wickets or apply pressure. Shreyanka Patil was the lone wicket-taker, but the lack of breakthroughs allowed South Africa to maintain complete control throughout the chase. Wolvaardt was deservedly named Player of the Match for her match-winning century, which will be remembered as one of the finest T20I knocks at the venue.
🚨 MATCH RESULT 🚨
It’s giving DOMINANCE! 🤌🤭#TheProteas complete a comprehensive victory in the third T20I by a commanding 9 wickets! 💪🇿🇦
A third successive win that seals the series 3-0 to the hosts, with two matches still to play! 🏏#Unbreakable pic.twitter.com/3fXIIBRERJ
— Proteas Women (@ProteasWomenCSA) April 22, 2026
This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.
