TOSS: Harmanpreet Kaur opts to bat first

First innings: India score 109/4 (20), Harleen Deol 46 (56) and Harmanpreet Kaur 21 (22)

Second innings: South Africa score 113/5 (18), Chloe Tryon 57* (32), Sneh Rana 2-21

SA win by 5 wickets

Harmanpreet Kaur: Feeling fine, should be ok in a few days. Plenty of positives, unfortunate we couldn’t bat the way we wanted to today. Bowlers have been good.

SA win by 5 wickets: While questions must be asked of India’s batting, South Africa’s bowling was superb too. Ismail was terrific at the start, so was Mlaba.

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Samreen Razzaqui: A knock to remember from Chloe Tryon! An unbeaten 57 off 32 on a pitch like that.

SA win by 5 wickets: Oh dear, Tryon goes for a big hit over the leg side and Vastrakar drops the catch and the ball goes for six. South Africa might have won it anyway but a chance missed to put SA under pressure.

HALF CENTURY: What a time to score your first international T20 fifty. Team in all sorts of trouble in a final and Chloe Tryon steps up with a spectacular counterattack. SA need just 10 off 3 overs.

SA 95/5 (15 overs, Target 110): Tryon! What a shot, slog sweep for six off India’s best bowler. She is on 48 off 28 balls.

Finish line in sight for SA. Wickets needed for India.

SA 82/5 (15 overs, Target 110): The decision to go to pace backfires. Tryon is playing a gem! Two fours in that over, gold dust.

SA 68/5 (14 overs, Target 110): A tidy over from Rana but India surprisingly go back to Vastrakar’s pace

We don’t think Harmanpreet went off the field to reply to Jhulu di (her account manager must get the timing better!)

Nadine de Klerk is no mug with the bat but the chase hinges on Tryon here you’d think

WICKET! 13.1: Annerie Dercksen 8(11) ct & b Sneh Rana. Spin on, wicket again. The attempt to just put the ball in the gap on the leg side leads to a leading edge and Rana is off celebrating. South Africa 66/5

Wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see pace from here on. Perhaps a calculated risk from India too.

SA 66/4 (13 overs, Target 110): A great over for South Africa. Two fours for SA, one each for Dercksen and Tryon, both through square leg. This is what a counterattack can do a low-scoring innings. India never really found this with the bat.

SA 54/4 (12 overs, Target 110): A couple of sloppy moments on the field for India, in terms of overthrows and general fielding chaos.

Update: Harmanpreet Kaur back on the field.

SA 48/4 (11 overs, Target 110): A tidy over and a wicket for Renuka. Pooja comes on from the other end as India are perhaps keeping spin for the back-end.

WICKET! 10.2: Sune Luus 12(13) ct Deepti Sharma b Renuka Singh That’s an important wicket for India, Luus goes for a flick but the leading edge goes to Sharma at short-third. South Africa 47/4

SA 46/3 (10 overs, Target 110): A couple of boundaries, one each for Luus and Tryon on that Gayakwad over, either side of the drinks break.

Milestone: 1000 runs for Sune Luus in T20Is.

SA 36/3 (9 overs, Target 110): A good over from Renuka, just two singles. India need to break this partnership soon though, more than tight overs.

First use of pace from India. Time for Renuka.

SA 34/3 (8 overs, Target 110): And here comes the Tryon counterattack. Two fours in that Devika over. The second one a misfield. Two three overs like this will put SA right on top again, that’s the problem with an under-par score.

SA 22/3 (7 overs, Target 110): All spin here, Devika comes on to bowl. Luus and Tryon hold the key for South Africa, the former a good batter against spin and the latter can change the match in a couple of overs.

WICKET! 6.3: Lara Goodall 7(11) b Rajeshwari Gayakwad The similarities to both the innings is quite canny. Around the same time India lost Jemimah, Goodall falls to Gayakwad. South Africa 21/3

SA 19/2 (6 overs, Target 110): Down the track from Luus off Rana and a four to finish the powerplay, that puts South Africa on par with India.

WICKET! 5.3: Tazmin Brits 8(15) ct Yastika Bhatia b Sneh Rana SA are struggling too on this turner. Rana, who is only in the reserves of the World Cup squad, gets the other opener. Brits didn’t seme too keen to walk off but the Indian appeal was confident. South Africa 15/2

SA 15/1 (5 overs, Target 110): Deepti should have had her second in that over. Goodall went for a reverse sweep and missed the ball but that was quite straight. Some streaky runs for the left-hander in that over but that is also what you get for taking a few risks.

SA 10/1 (4 overs, Target 110): Deepti Sharma will continue from the other end after Sneh Rana starts off with a tidy over too.

WICKET! 2.3: Laura Wolvaardt 0(9) b Deepti Sharma Laura Wolvaardt, much like Smriti Mandhana earlier, goes for a big shot dancing down the ground after early pressure. Deepti Sharma, much like Mlaba, produces an absolute classic spinner’s dismissal. Beaten on flight and turn. She is in some form, Deepti. The commentators have been waxing lyrical about her and rightly so. South Africa 7/1

SA 7/0 (2 overs, Target 110): Down the ground and the first six of the match from Brits off Gayakwad. But the Indian spinner bowled a couple of peaches too.

SA 0/0 (1 over, Target 110): Deepti Sharma, like Ismail, starts off with a maiden. Great fielding in that over by Renuka at square leg to help with it.

Wolvaardt and Brits in the middle, and India start straight away with Deepti.

End of innings: India 109/4 (20). Harleen Deol 46 (56) and Harmanpreet Kaur 21 (22) were the two top-scorers on a pitch that does have turn on offer. But finishing with 6 wickets in hand (and that too Pooja Vastrakar barely used) is severe under-utilisation of resources from India.

WICKET! 19.4: Harleen Deol 46(56) b Ayabonga Khaka Four and out. Harleen Deol manages to place one well between fielders for four but then misses a straight one next ball. Commentator says she deserved her half century, not quite sure how that works. India 108/4

India 101/3 (19 overs): Similar length balls from Ismail to Harleen and Deepti. Harleen taps it straight to the point fielder (19th over, mind you) while Deepti gives room and smacks it through cover for four. It’s been an inexcusable innings from Harleen, in all honesty. Gets dropped in the over too, a bit too causal from Khaka at short-fine. Ismail finishes with 0/9 and wont be bowled out.

India 92/3 (18 overs): Some more gifted runs for India in that over via extras from Chloe Tryon. No boundaries.

India 82/3 (17 overs): Some momentum finally. Moments after the below tweet, Harleen Deol puts away a short ball behind square for four. Deepti however showing more intent in the middle. She will need to find the boundaries more here, her finishing has been good in recent times.

India 75/3 (16 overs): Six singles in the Tryon over as Deepti joins Harleen in the middle. For a set batter, it doesn’t seem Deol will find the boundaries anytime soon.

WICKET! 14.6: Harmanpreet Kaur 21(22) st Sinalo Jafta b Sune Luus Really at this point both batters have to go hard but the pressure has been built up massively by Harleen’s inability to score quickly. Harmanpreet had to go for the shot against Luus, against the spin and is stumped. India 69/3

India 58/2 (13 overs): Harleen Deol is playing a completely bizarre innings. There have at least been a couple of big shots attempted in the last few deliveries but otherwise she is not even trying to up the ante whether it is a tough pitch or not. A gift from Tryon there for five wides.

India 48/2 (11 overs): Harleen was nearly run out end of that over. Harmanpreet with an edge too. There is plenty of turn on offer as Luus bowls a good first over. In between overs, Harmanpreet needing some attention. She was holding her left neck region.

India 43/2 (10 overs): Harleen might have just gotten away with hitting the stumps. The ball is past her bat but the bails are off, no one knows what is going on evidently. The South Africans weren’t appealing either. The umpires got together briefly but apparently decide to move on. Bizarre. The Tryon over finishes with a streaky four.

India 35/2 (9 overs): Harmanpreet Kaur walks out to bat and is able to find some gaps right away. It’s largely been fielding practice for South Africa otherwise. (Not the best of pitches, maybe, but alarming precision to find fielders so far). A four for the captain in that over, cut past short third off Mlaba’s bowling.

India 25/2 (8 overs): Harmanpreet has been batting quite superbly this series so far but she needs to play the best knock yet to offer some respectability to this total. This innings is going nowhere. Far too many dot balls. The pitch is not easy to bat on perhaps but the intent as well as placement from most Indian batters has been disappointing too.

Also, Wolvaardt came back to field a while back.

WICKET! 6.6: Jemimah Rodrigues 11(18) st Sinalo Jafta b Nonkululeko Mlaba All South Africa indeed. Jemimah tries to up the ante, dances down and like she did to Mandhana, Mlaba beats her opening partner too with the flight and turn. Stumped. India 21/2

India 19/1 (6 overs): The broadcast was lost when India hit four fours in the last couple of overs. We got to see a few more dot balls though. The powerplay is a dream one for South Africa.

India 11/1 (5 overs): Two fours apparently for Rodrigues in the 5th over. We lost broadcast completely.

India 3/1 (4 overs): Much like India’s batting so far, the broadcast is not off to the best of starts either. We are constantly losing feed. Meanwhile, Khaka bowls a 1-run over.

India 2/1 (3 overs): Incredible this from Ismail. Just so consistent and pacy. Just a leg bye in that over and it’s a maiden.

WICKET! 1.6: Smriti Mandhana 0(8) b Nonkululeko Mlaba Smriti Mandhana is out for 8-ball 0. She found the fielders with a few shots through the offside and tried going for a big one off Mlaba, misses it, bowled. The big shot was coming, you could sense that. And that was beautifully flighted and turned too. India 1/1

India 0/0 (1 over): Shabnim Ismail has bowled two overs in the series so far. Both maidens. 12 dot balls. Brilliant. There was a superb bouncer in that over to Mandhana. Worryingly for South Africa, Wolvaardt had to walk off the field after fielding the first ball, seemingly a hand injury.

Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues opening again. Shabnim Ismail has the ball in hand.

Replug: Ahead of the final, here’s some reading for those interested. Our interview with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

Interview: Harmanpreet Kaur on her sweep shot, her love for fielding, the importance of financial security and more

Team news

South Africa, as previously reported, as without Kapp for this match. India have replaced Shikha Pandey with Sneh Rana.

India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Devika Vaidya, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Renuka Thakur, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

South Africa XI: Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Lara Goodall, Sune Luus (c), Chloe Tryon, Annerie Dercksen , Nadine De Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka

TOSS: Harmanpreet Kaur wins the toss again and opts to bat first.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the Tri-series final, where Harmanpreet Kaur’s India will take on Sune Luus-led South Africa in East London.

South Africa is the center of attention for women’s cricket at the moment (in more ways than one) and we enter the final stretch ahead of the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. India have been unbeaten in this Tri-Series and will look to enter the tournament on the high of defeating the hosts.

South Africa on the other hand have made the headlines for less-than-ideal reasons before the home tournament, with controversy surrounding the exclusion of Dane van Niekerk, and one of the immediate consequences is that they will be without star allrounder (and DvN’s partner) Marizanne Kapp for this clash today.

Screenshots in the blog courtesy: BCCI / Disney+Hotstar