India (W) vs SA Women, 1st ODI at Lucknow, IND-W v SA-W, Mar 07 2021 - Match Result

Right. That's that from us today. Hope you enjoyed the game. Don't forget to join us for the second ODI on March 9. Be well, stay safe and do not venture out without your masks. Cheers everyone!

It's time for the presentation

Shabnim Ismail is the Player of the Match for her 3 for 28. "My performances after the Pakistan series was really good," she says. "The idea was to hit consistent lines and lengths, in my first over where I went for 10 runs, I was a touch short."

Sune Luus: Was a perfect game until I lost my wicket (laughs). Our bowling and fielding was exceptional, the way Lizelle and Laura batted - world class! Always need to work on areas to improve, but for now, we're going to celebrate the win and what we've done right.

Mithali Raj: It seems like the batters were in good form. Few of them got starts but couldn't convert. The bowlers need to be more consistent with lines and lengths, maybe they weren't consistent because they're coming back after a long break. A lot goes into game time. If you play games, it shows in your confidence.

3.33pm And South Africa have taken a 1-0 lead with a proper demolition job. They showed how and why match-time is very important. Unlike India, they came in to the game on the back of two full series. And all that game time translated into proper plans and their execution.

Sune Luus won a good toss, opted to bowl and then saw her premier fast bowler Shabnim Ismail lay down the marker. Then, rookie Mlaba showed her wares with some crafty left-arm spin. Even when Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet briefly threatened a rearguard, South Africa stuck to their task and kept chipping away.

Then with a small target to chase down, Laura Woolvardt threaded gaps with surgical precision - like she would've had to do at medical school had her plans of being a doctor materialised. Lizelle Lee showed why she's among the feared batters in the women's game today, bruising her way to a superb half-century to turn this quickly into a no-contest.

Four more ODIs to go, so India shouldn't be too worried. After all this was only their first ODI in 15 months. That said, there's plenty of work to do in terms of finding the right balance.