Staying unbeaten in the women’s Tri-Nation series cricket tournament so far, India will lock horns against South Africa at Buffalo Park in Eastern Cape on Saturday. The match will start at 10:30 PM IST.
India recently suffered a 4-1 loss against Australia in a five-match T20I series at home in the run-up to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Apart from beating South Africa, they also got the better of West Indies by beating them by 56 runs.
India Women put a score of 167 runs on the board with Smriti Mandhana playing a scintillating knock of 74 runs off 51 balls. Harmanpreet Kaur, too, remained unbeaten at 56 from 35 deliveries. West Indies were able to muster only 111 runs on the board as the likes of Shikha Pandey, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, and Amanjot Kaur kept things tight with the ball.
South Africa Women, on the other hand, beat West Indies both times in their encounters in the series. They put a target of 142 for the Caribbean team to chase but they faltered at 97. Marizanne Kapp struck a well-deserved 52 off 43 balls while Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus scored 25 and 30 respectively. In the second match, South Africa chased down a total of 98 without losing a single wicket as Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits scored 42 and 50 respectively.
Head to Head record
This will be the ninth encounter between India Women and South Africa Women. The Women in Blue lead the head-to-head record with eight wins against the Proteas’ four. In the previous match between the two sides, India beat South Africa by 27 runs.
Batting first, they put on board 147 runs courtesy of Amanjot Kaur’s knock of 41 runs off 30 balls. Yastika Bhatia and Deepti Sharma scored 35 and 33 respectively to help the team reach the total. South Africa, in reply, could post only 120 runs on the board. Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Sneh Rana kept things tight for the team by conceding only 23 runs from their combined spell of six overs while taking a wicket apiece.
Key Players
Rajeshwari Gayakwad: Rajeshwari has been the most economical bowler for India in the tournament so far. She has conceded only 27 runs from the seven overs she has bowled while taking two wickets so far. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler will play a key role in restricting the flow of runs against South Africa.
Laura Wolvaardt: Laura Wolvaardt played beautifully against West Indies with her crisp drives and cuts through the gaps making it tough for bowlers to restrict runs. However, she failed to weave her magic against India as she got out by scoring only 6 runs. The right-handed opener will be eager to prove her mettle against India.
Team News
There are no injury concerns for both teams but the two sides may give a chance to bench warmers to test their strength with the ICC T20 World Cup nearing. Anneke Bosch and Shabnim Ismail might make a return to the starting line-up to replace Tazmin Brits and Masabata Klaas.
India Women, on the other hand, may also make one change as Sabbhineni Meghana can take the place of Smriti Mandhana at the top in order to prepare the bench strength for the upcoming T20 World Cup which is to be held in South Africa as well.
Predicted Playing XI
India Women: Yastika Bhatia, Sabbhineni Meghana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur ©, Jemimah Rodrigues, Devika Vaidya, Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt, Anneke Bosch, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus ©, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Shabnim Ismail, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune
Prediction
South Africa has beaten West Indies comprehensively twice but India is too strong against the likes of their Caribbean counterparts. We predict India to come out on top once again.