South Africa Women
Image Credit: ICC Twitter

Cricket South Africa (CSA) Director of Cricket and former captain, Graeme Smith congratulates the Proteas Women team as they register an ODI series victory over Mithali Raj’s India Women with one game to spare.

On Sunday, via a 7 wicket victory, South Africa clinched the series taking an unassailable 3-1 lead in the 5-match series.

South Africa, led by stand-in skippers Sune Luus and Laura Wolvaardt, won the first match by 8 wickets; India reciprocated with a thumping 9-wicket win of their own in the second match. While the first two ODI were one-sided games, the next couple of encounters were close affairs, with the visitors coming out on top with 6 runs (DLS) and 7 wickets to spare respectively.

To Beat India Women In India Is A Massive Achievement - Graeme Smith Congratulates South Africa Women On ODI Series Win
South Africa women beat India women in the ODI series. Image-Twitter

It shows the immense growth of this team: Graeme Smith

It is the third consecutive series victory of the Proteas team – they beat New Zealand in the away series and then Pakistan at home. It is also their first ODI series triumph in India since 2014. Graeme Smith is happy to see the recent success of the side as they prepare for the Women’s World Cup next year.

“Congratulations to the Proteas for a fantastic series win in India. It is one of the most difficult places in the world to tour and for our players to go there and beat the hosts in their own back yard, with a match to spare is a massive achievement, which cannot be understated,” said Graeme Smith in CSA release.

Cricket South Africa, Cricket Australia, ICC, Graeme Smith
Cricket South Africa director Graeme Smith [Image Credits: AFP]

“We have seen coach Hilton take his team to New Zealand last year and win a series. They followed that up by beating Pakistan at home in January and now they have gone to India and won a third ODI series in succession. It shows the immense growth of this team. They are really beginning to blossom at a time when the women’s game is also growing and we are extremely happy for them,” Smith added.

The fifth and the last match of the series will be played on Wednesday at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. The ODIs will be followed by a 3-match T20I series at the same venue.

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