9:47pm Both Wolvaardt and Harmanpreet hold the trophy aloft. The T20I series has been shared 1-1, with the second T20I washed out. A lovely photo of players from both teams posing together behind the board that reads WINNERS. Kapp having a laugh with Mandhana. Rodrigues, Mlaba and Deepti sharing laughs. Khaka and Patil holding the trophy in the middle. Reddy and Bosch standing arm-in-arm. Pictures that make for a lovely viewing. Now the support staff of both teams join in. And Rodrigues jumps over the board to take her customary selfie - this time with both the teams trying to fit in the frame. A photo that deserves to be framed. Not just in these players' showcases but perhaps even at the Chepauk.
This is the beauty of sport. A hard-fought multi-format series followed by heart-warming interactions among the players. Shafali catching up with Kapp. Wolvaardt wishing Hemalatha well. Rodrigues then chatting with Luus. The beauty of the WPL too, but the camaraderie that has come to the fore thanks to the shared series.
India head to the Women's Asia Cup high on confidence. This is their biggest win at home with balls to spare. And also their first ten-wicket win in women's T20Is at home. Superb way to sign off from home. That brings us to the end of this series. It was fun to bring these matches to you. Hope y'all enjoyed reading our content. On behalf of Shashank and Ranjith tonight, and from the others who were involved in the coverage throughout this home series, this is Sudarshanan bidding you goodbye. Do join us regularly for all the live cricket action - men's and women's. Till the next time, take care! Ciao aficionados!
9:38pm Time for the presentation
Pooja Vastrakar, the Player of the Match as well as the Player of the Series: "It was an opportunity for me and whatever I practiced in the nets - bowling wicket-to-wicket - I executed. Bowling hard lengths help me. As an opportunity and a responsibility, the team felt I should be given the new ball. And I wanted to pick up early wickets and give team a good start. Such lengths will be effective in Sri Lanka. Want to do similarly well in Asia Cup. Tonight we tried to bowl to our strengths and give our best. All bowlers did well."
Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa captain: "Disappointing loss. Not the way we wanted to end the series. It was stopping when we were batting. Overall, taking a lot of learnings. First two games, lot of positives. We went too hard too early today, could have assessed better. Could have taken a time upfront. Talked about going too hard but should have taken our time. A couple of us are off to the Hundred. The others have camp at home. Thank you for having us."
Harmanpreet Kaur, India captain: "We spoke about things we need to improve specially when we are playing T20 cricket. Proud of the way we bowled and fielded. That is something we spoke in our meetings. Going forward, there might be situations where have to come hard and keep believing. Everyone had the belief we had it in us, we were positive. Played as a team and did well as a team. Smriti really had a good series, in the Test Shafali came up with a good approach. We talk about getting chances and doing well. Everyone looked positive. The self-belief was there to change the game. Want to do well in Asia Cup. We keep things simple. This team has a lot of talent. [Muzumdar] Sir is very cool, he keeps things simple. Fielding coach is working hard, Avi [Salvi, bowling coach] is also calm. This is the best support staff I have ever worked with. The selectors and BCCI are also supporting us. We want to do the right things."
9:21pm India roar back with a superlative win to draw the series, which means South Africa stay winless in a women's T20I series under Wolvaardt's captaincy. Tonight's win was all set up perfectly by the bowlers led by Vastrakar's four-for. Radha played the perfect support act with her three wickets with Patil, Deepti and Reddy also chipping in. A chase of 85 was not going to test this Indian batting order, and Shafali and Mandhana finished the job off with the latter looking in sublime touch. India avoid a series defeat at home.
Radha Yadav: "It was fun. They played well in the first two games. We were disappointed as a bowling unit. We thought what we could do on this surface. After reflecting on that, we were much better today. In the first two games, we were hurrying, and my field placements were not up to the mark. The balls were not bad, but field placements were mistaken. I reflected what fields I should have for which batter. And the results were visible today. The plan was simple. The areas they were targetting us, we shouldn't bowl there. We should try to target their weak zones. A small thing of making quick decisions was missing, and [Muzumdar] sir told us to work on that. We were calm. We will go for runs in T20s, but the next ball is important. We are confident but I believe in hard-work, and so does the team. We will do that and the results will follow. Our work and fitness is in our hands. Sir told us to improve these small things. [Spin department] All the players are working hard genuinely. You will spot that in practice sessions, and god is also watching. We will do something special going forward."
Crowd 14,000-15,000 today, Srinidhi tells me
END OF OVER:10 | 9 Runs | IND-W: 74/0 (11 runs required from 60 balls, RR: 7.40, RRR: 1.10)
- Smriti Mandhana40 (35b)
- Shafali Verma27 (25b)
- Nonkululeko Mlaba2-0-20-0
- Nadine de Klerk1-0-8-0
Drinks on the field with India needing only 11
Rahul Malnad : "Isn't it true Smriti Mandanna has struggled to score quick runs against spin in the past? " Mandhana's strike rates in T20Is: vs offspin - 117.19, vs legspin - 133.75, vs left-arm orthodox - 138.71
Mlaba for her second over now
END OF OVER:9 | 9 Runs | IND-W: 65/0 (20 runs required from 11 overs, RR: 7.22, RRR: 1.81)
- Smriti Mandhana32 (31b)
- Shafali Verma26 (23b)
- Nadine de Klerk1-0-8-0
- Chloe Tryon2-0-8-0
Nadine de Klerk with the ball now, over the wicket
END OF OVER:8 | 5 Runs | IND-W: 56/0 (29 runs required from 12 overs, RR: 7.00, RRR: 2.41)
- Smriti Mandhana26 (27b)
- Shafali Verma24 (21b)
- Chloe Tryon2-0-8-0
- Ayabonga Khaka2-0-20-0