A Smriti Mandhana masterclass and Arundhati Reddy's sharp bowling helped India defeat South Africa by six wickets in the third and final ODI, securing a 3-0 series sweep in Bengaluru.

Playing in front of 15,000 fans at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, crowd-favorite Mandhana led India's chase of 216 but narrowly missed out on a century, scoring 90 off 83 balls. She concluded the series with 343 runs, surpassing Laura Wolvaardt's record of 335 runs in a three-match women's series set against Sri Lanka in April 2024.

Mandhana's innings featured 61 and 62-run partnerships with Shafali Verma (25) and Priya Punia (28) respectively. She hit seven of her 11 fours on the offside, with six in the cover region alone. Alongside Harmanpreet Kaur (42 off 48), she shared a 48-run stand off 47 balls to counter the South African attack. Mandhana's top-edge dismissal in the 31st over left India needing 45 runs from 19 overs, which the remaining batters achieved with 9.2 overs to spare.

South Africa's Struggles

South Africa's lack of a sixth bowling option hindered them, as Marizanne Kapp played all matches as a specialist batter due to workload management after recovering from a back injury, and premier spin-bowling allrounder Chloe Tryon missed the tour due to a recurring back injury. Despite recognizing this issue, South Africa opted for a like-for-like replacement for Masabata Klaas with right-arm bowler Tumi Sukhukhune.

South Africa's Innings: A Tale of Two Halves

After a close chase in the second ODI, South Africa had a mixed outing with the bat. Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits provided a brisk start, reaching 46 without loss in the first ten overs. Wolvaardt continued her excellent form, scoring her 32nd half-century in her 98th ODI. She targeted Pooja Vastrakar in the 10th over, hitting four fours, and added more boundaries off Radha Yadav and Smriti Mandhana.

Brits, cautious after low scores in the first two games, showed intent to stay longer in her comeback series. The pair took South Africa past 100 in 119 balls, but an exceptional catch by Reddy dismissed Wolvaardt for 61, breaking the 102-run partnership. Brits was run out for 38 following a mix-up with Marizanne Kapp, who was promoted to no.3 after her century in the previous game.

Reddy continued to impress, catching Anneke Bosch in her follow-through and Shreyanka Patil dismissed Kapp caught and bowled for 7. From 102 for 0, South Africa collapsed to 120 for 4. Cameos from Nadine de Klerk and Mieke de Ridder helped them cross 200, but India's tight bowling kept them in check.

On a pitch with cracks and grass, Harmanpreet opened the bowling with Patil and maintained a spin presence throughout the innings. Reddy was the standout bowler, taking 2 for 36 in ten overs across four spells. Deepti Sharma was the most economical, taking two wickets in two balls in the 43rd over.

Despite a brief drizzle after the first innings, which did not affect play, India's dominant performance ensured South Africa never gained momentum.