When Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur were batting together and adding runs with some enterprise for the third wicket, India looked like they would get to around 175. That didn’t happen. Rodrigues fell at “the wrong time”, and all India could put up was 157. South Africa got past that with five balls in hand to take a 1-0 lead in the five-T20I series.
“We were around 15-20 runs short. With the kind of start we got – Shafali [Verma, who scored 34 in 20 balls], the way she batted was great. Then two wickets falling in two overs [Verma and Smriti Mandhana]…” Rodrigues said after the game. “But then Harman and I getting that partnership back. I think when we had built that momentum and removed the difficult part of it, when time came to capitalise, we were not able to capitalise.
“And also, the conditions were a little bit tricky in the first innings. There was slight hold on the wicket. But yeah, definitely we were 15 runs short. And, coming in the second innings, I think our bowlers did really well to get it to the last over. Like Shreyanka [Patil] bowled really well. [N] Shree Charani bowled really well. A little more better execution and I think we are going to come back stronger in the next game.”
Rodrigues was sent back by Tumi Sekhukhune in the 15th over, leaving India 119 for 3. The stand with Harmanpreet was worth 71 in 51 balls, but though Harmanpreet batted till the end to remain unbeaten on a 33-ball 47, the lower-order batters couldn’t quite come to the party.
“It was just that when the time came for us to capitalise, I got out, I fell on the wrong time,” Rodrigues said. “Because for set batters, it’s easier to bat through and take it deep. So, in the next match, I will come back and take that responsibility again.
“In the next game, I think in the day, again we know what the conditions will be like. We know that this pitch might have slight turn and slight hold. And I feel in the daytime, it’s also going to play the same in both the innings. So, that is one positive where it’s not much on the toss. And the second thing would be, as a bowling unit, we will work a lot more on our execution and come back stronger.”
The T20 World Cup is later in the year. In June-July in England and Wales. India are the ODI world champions, but have lost four out of nine games against the top-ranked sides – Australia, England and now South Africa – in the last 12 months. They have a 10-4 win-loss record in this period, but that’s bolstered by a 5-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka at home in December 2025.
“Coming to the World Cup, we have batting till the end, a lot of allrounders,” Rodrigues said. “But also, the allrounders coming later have not got so much match time and experience. So, I think playing here in South Africa is going to be really great for us as a preparation also for the World Cup and for our entire batting order too.”
