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 t🌌o 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 – win the 1st ODI by 8 wickets 🇮🇳👏👏
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen)
Priya also joined elite Indian women cricketers (such as Mithali Raj, Veda Krish🍌namurthy, Anju Jain, Karuna Jain, and others) to slam a fifty-plus score on ODI debut.
50 on ODI debut for Priya Punia 👏👏
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen)
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.
Ma✱rizanne Kapp top-scored for🐲 the tourists with 54 runs off 64 balls.
