A solid effort with the ball, topped off with a blistering half-century from Chloe Tryon in the chase, sealed a tense victory against India for the Proteas.The hosts have taken home the spoils of war in what has been a captivating tri-series.

India crawled their way to 109 at halftime, courtesy a very economical show from the South African bowling unit. Left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba starred with 2/16 in her allotment. Harleen Deol fought well and made a steady 46, but didn’t get adequate support or impetus.

It seemed like SA were the favorites by a comfortable margin, but the Indian spinners immediately struck to push the hosts back. The openers were both dismissed inside the Powerplay, and the departure of Lara Goodall in the 7th over made the chase more nervous than expected.

Skipper Suné Luus had a positive start, but when she popped a catch to short third, the ship was sinking further. Annerie Dercksen got dismissed cheaply, and the Proteas were reduced to 66/5 in the 14th over.

Amid all the trouble, Chloe Tryon was regularly finding the boundary, and the next over went for 14. The hard-hitting right-hander brought up her first 50 in this format after hitting a maximum in the previous over.

At that point, the damage had been done, and SA coasted their way to a win. Tryon finished the proceedings in style with her second six of the game, and it’s been a spirited and successful campaign in this event for the South Africans.

IND 109/4 in 20 overs (Deol 46 – Mlaba 4-0-16-2)

SA 113/5 in 18 overs (Tryon 57* – Rana 4-0-21-2)