Ever since a teenager Priya Punia set her feet on the crease as an opener for Indian women’s team during the first of three ODIs against South Africa, there was a resemblance in the way she was playing each ball to that of her skipper Mithali Raj.
Having hit eight boundaries, Punia looked confident with the bat and scoring came quickly to her.
Chasing 164, the hosts cantered to victory in 41.4 overs with openers Punia (75 not out off 124) and Jemimah Rodrigues (55 off 65) laying the foundation for a resounding win.
That is a wrap from Vadodara – #TeamIndia win the 1st ODI by 8 wickets 🇮🇳👏👏 #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/lgtoTEGKt7
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 9, 2019
Priya also joined elite Indian women cricketers (such as Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Anju Jain, Karuna Jain, and others) to slam a fifty-plus score on ODI debut.
50 on ODI debut for Priya Punia 👏👏 #TeamIndia #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/mkEPv0wCwD
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 9, 2019
Earlier, South Africa women struggled with the bat after winning the toss. They were bowled out for paltry 164 in 45.1 overs. It was an all-round bowling effort from India women with Jhulan Goswami (3/33), Shikha Pandey (2/38), Ekta Bisht (2/8) and Poonam Yadav (2/33) sharing the bulk of the wickets.
Marizanne Kapp top-scored for the tourists with 54 runs off 64 balls.
