Cape Town, February 24: Indian women cricket team defeated South African women by 54 runs in the fifth Twenty20 International to clinch the series 3-1. Seasoned Mithali Raj scored 62 off 50 balls while teenager Jemimah Rodrigues smashed 44 off 34 balls as Indian women scored a competitive 166 for 4 in 20 overs. Shikha Pandey and Rumeli Dhar the took three wickets apiece as India bowled out South Africa for 112 in 18 overs.

Opener Mithali Raj struck a quick-fire half-century with good support coming from Rodrigues as the Indian women's cricket team set a target of 167 runs for South Africa in the fifth and final T20I of the five-match series here at Newlands Stadium on Saturday.

After being asked to bat first, India lost opener Smriti Mandhana cheaply for 13 runs. Subsequently, opener Mithali Raj struck a 50-ball 62 runs beside also joining forces with Rodrigues (44) to notch up a 98-run partnership for the second wicket. Meanwhile, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten on 27 as India posted 166-4 in their stipulated 20 overs.

For South Africa, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka and Shabnim Ismail all bagged a wicket each. At the time of filing of this report, South Africa had started their innings and were batting at 12-0.

The Indian women's cricket team created history by winning two series in a single tour to South Africa for the first time ever. They had earlier clinched the three-match ODI series against South Africa 2-1.

Brief Scores: India women: 166/4 in 20 overs (Mithali Raj 62 off 50 balls, Jemimah Rodrigues 44 off 34 balls, Harmanpreet Kaur 27 off 17 balls) vs South Africa. South Africa women: 112 all out in 18 overs. (M Kapp 27, C Tryon 25; S Pandey 3/16, R Dhar 3/26)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 24, 2018 10:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).