India let the game slip in phases as South Africa punish another night of half-finished control

 

Image: BCCI WomenTrisha Ghosal, Manchester

India’s defeat to South Africa at Old Trafford will hurt because it was not one of those nights when they were simply overpowered by a better side. This was a game where India had enough moments, enough control and enough openings to walk away with a statement win. Instead, they let it slip in phases – first with the bat, then in the middle overs of the chase, and finally at the death, when Marizanne Kapp shut the door with the authority India could not summon.

The opening India failed to cash in on came in the powerplay. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave India the kind of start teams crave in a World Cup game of this weight – quick, aggressive and immediately unsettling for the opposition. At 59/2 after six overs, India were not just well placed; they were in a position to bat South Africa out of the contest. On a ground where strokeplay early on looked possible, this was the moment for someone from the middle order to take ownership and turn a strong platform into a total with real scoreboard pressure attached to it.

That never quite happened.

India did not collapse, but they drifted. Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma all got starts, and that in some ways made the final total of 158/7 feel even more underwhelming. “We were 10–15 runs short,” head coach Amol Muzumdar reiterated in the post-match press conference. One substantial innings, one batter batting through, one surge in the final five overs, and the conversation around the chase would have looked very different. Instead, India left the door open. Against South Africa, that was invitation enough.

If India left runs behind in the first innings, they let the game truly loosen in the second. South Africa were 25/2 after six overs, with Sree Charani striking twice and India asking exactly the kind of questions they would have wanted at that stage. That should have been the cue to tighten further – dry up the singles, attack with conviction, and force South Africa into risk. Instead, Kapp and Tazmin Brits were allowed to settle, and once they settled, the chase changed shape.

That stand was not just important because of the runs it brought. It changed the emotional balance of the game. South Africa moved from recovery to control, while India slipped from dictating terms to reacting to them. Kapp, especially, was outstanding in the way she judged tempo – calm when South Africa needed repair, brutal once she sensed India’s grip loosening.

Even then, India were not entirely out of it. With two overs left, there was still a chance to stretch the chase, force one mistake, and create one final opening. But the 19th over ended that hope. Deepti Sharma, usually so dependable in tense moments, went for 16 as Kapp landed the decisive blows and effectively settled the contest before the final over could become a contest at all.

That, in the end, was India’s problem at Old Trafford. They were not blown away. They were simply not ruthless enough in the moments that demanded it. They had the start with the bat and did not maximise it. They had South Africa at 25/2 and did not squeeze hard enough. They had a narrow opening at the death and failed to execute. In World Cup cricket, that is often all it takes – not one collapse, not one disaster, just a handful of moments mishandled against a side good enough to punish every one of them.

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