The Indian women's cricket team wrapped up their T20 World Cup preparations with a 28-run win against South Africa in their final warm-up match at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai on October 1. This victory marked India's second consecutive win in their warm-up fixtures, following a 20-run triumph over the West Indies.
After being sent into bat, India faced early trouble with Shafali Verma departing for a duck and captain Harmanpreet Kaur falling for just 10 runs. However, Jemimah Rodrigues once again steadied the innings, scoring a valuable 30 while partnering with Smriti Mandhana, who contributed to a 40-run stand.
India found themselves at 67/4 before Richa Ghosh led a counter-attack, scoring a brisk 36 off 25 balls. She was supported by Deepti Sharma, who remained unbeaten at 35 as the duo added 70 runs in just 50 balls. South Africa's Ayabonga Khaka took three wickets in the final over, restricting India to 144/8.
In response, South Africa started cautiously but lost quick wickets after being 37/0. Asha Sobhana struck right after the powerplay, and the Proteas struggled to recover from the flurry of wickets, eventually managing only 116/9 in their 20 overs. Despite efforts from Chloe Tryon (24 off 20) and Annerie Dercksen (21 off 16), India’s bowlers, including Sobhana who took 2/21, were too strong.
India will now face New Zealand in their Group A opener on October 4 in Dubai, as they head into the Women's T20 World Cup with strong momentum.