Debutant Amanjot Kaur, 23, came up with a matured knock of unbeaten 41 off 30 balls as India Women fought back from a wobbly situation to post a 27- run win over South Africa in their T20I tri-series opener.
Opting to bowl on a dry and slow Buffalo Park strip, the hosts sent back half of the Indian side inside 12 overs with just 69 runs on the board.
From thereon, Deepti Sharma (33 from 23 balls) took control of the proceedings with Amanjot, who hails from a humble background in Punjab (her father is a carpenter), playing the perfect second fiddle in their match-turning 76-run partnership off just 50 balls to prop India to a challenging 147/6 on Thursday night.
In reply, the Indian spinners exploited the conditions well with senior off-spinner Deepti leading the show with figures of 3/30 to restrict South Africa to 120/9.
Regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur did not play the game because of illness and, in her absence, Smriti Mandhana led the side. India will next face the West Indies on Monday.
Brief scores: India Women 147/6 in 20 ovs (Amanjot Kaur 41 n.o., Yastika Bhatia 35). South Africa Women 120/9 in 20 ovs (Sune Luus 29; Deepti 3/30, Devika Vaidya 2/19). India Women won by 27 runs.
Written with inputs from PTI
