Mithali Raj played a strokeful innings of 54* to lead India to a 7-wicket victory in the first of the 5-match T20 series against South Africa. India had already won the ODI series 2-1 and is dominant in the series.
Coming into bat, South Africa posted a respectful total of 164/4. Anuja Patil grabbed two wickets for four runs while Shikha Pandey and Pooja Vastrakar took one each. For India, veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami has to withdraw from the entire series due to a heel injury.
India was comfortable in chasing the total from the beginning. Mithali opened the batting order and had a crucial 69-run partnership for the third wicket with debutant Jemimah Rodrigues. Rodrigues hit 4 boundaries and a six for her 37. After her departure, the skipper added 52 runs with Veda Krishnamurthy who remained not out at 37 when India down a target of 165 with seven balls to spare. Veda hit 3 boundaries and 3 over boundaries in her 22-ball innings.
