Rangiora (New Zealand): Veteran middle-order batsman Harmanpreet Kaur batted in her natural style to score a century in the Women’s One Day World Cup warm-up cricket match against South Africa on Sunday as the Indian team registered a thrilling two-run win in the match played at Rangiora Oval. Harmanpreet had been battling to score runs for a long time but she returned to form with 63 runs in the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand. She scored a scintillating 114 runs in the Indian team’s first warm-up match against South Africa which bodes well for the Mithali Raj-led side ahead of the World Cup beginning on March 4.
Harmanpreet hit 11 fours in his 119-ball innings. Apart from him, Yastika Bhatia played an innings of 58 runs in 78 balls. Invited to bat first, India scored 244 for nine despite opener Smriti Mandhana having retired hurt due to a head injury early in the day. South Africa’s team could only manage 242 runs for seven wickets in the stipulated 50 overs. Laura Walwart scored 75 and captain Sun Luss scored 94 runs for South Africa, which defeated the Indian team on their soil last year. Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gaikwad took four wickets for 46 runs for India.
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Earlier, shortly after the start of the match, a bouncer from fast bowler Shabneem Ismail hit the left-handed batsman Mandhana’s helmet, due to which she had to return to the pavilion after being ‘retired hurt’ in the ninth over. Mandhana had then scored 12 runs. The 25-year-old Mandhana was examined by Indian team doctors and initially she seemed fit to continue with the game but she ‘retired heart’ after one over after consulting the doctors again. India will play their next warm-up match against the West Indies on Tuesday while they will start their campaign in the World Cup against arch-rivals Pakistan on March 6.
In another warm-up match played on Sunday, Pakistan thrashed hosts New Zealand by four wickets while Australia thrashed West Indies by 90 runs. Inviting New Zealand to bat first, Pakistan bowled out their entire team for 229 runs in 45 overs and then registered a victory at 233 for six in 49.2 overs. Nashra Sandhu took four for 32 for Pakistan while Amy Satterthwaite (80) and Maddie Green (58) scored half-centuries for New Zealand. Pakistan recovered from the initial setbacks and won with the help of 62 runs from Aliya Riaz and 54 runs from Nida Dar. (agency)