IND-W vs SA-W, ICC Women's World Cup: Mithali Raj 68, Mandhana 71 help India post 274 in must-win game

India vs South Africa, Women’s World Cup 2022: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj registered fifties while Hamanpreet Kaur's 48 took India to 274 in the must-win game in Christchurch.

Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, and Mithali Raj scored valiant fifties to help India post a competitive 274-run total in the do or die match against South Africa Women in the ICC Women's World Cup 2022 on Sunday.

A win in the match will help India go through to the semifinals while a defeat puts them on the flight back home.

South Africa, though fought back brilliantly in the death overs, using the short ball and slower ones to great effect to put a lid on scoring. At one point, India looked good to finish on a score close to 300 but South Africa managed to pull things, giving away just 51 runs in the last 10 overs.

Earlier in the day, openers Shafali Verma (53) and Smriti Mandhana made their intentions early and the pair found the boundary with ease to help India bring up their 50 without loss.

Verma was run out in the 15th over to give South Africa some relief and Yastika Bhatia (2) followed shortly after to Chloe Tryon (1/24) as India were quickly reduced to 96/2.

Mandhana and Raj looked assured at the crease before a moment of brilliance on the field ended the 78-run stand. The southpaw tried to clear the in-field but a stunning catch by Chloe Tryon diving to her wrong side brought an end to Mandhana's innings on 71.

Boundaries were hard to come by for India before Harmanpreet Kaur finally found her timing in the 48th over with two consecutive fours to give some impetus to the innings. The Proteas pulled it back in the final two overs with the wickets of Richa Ghosh and Kaur to restrict India to 274/7.