Deadline: September 24, 2019 at 7 PM IST
Venue: Lalabhai Contractor Stadium, Surat
Pitch report
In the only Ranji match last year at the venue, spinners took 18 of 34 wickets. Given South Africa’s weakness, expect spinners to take centre stage on Tuesday.
Weather forecast
Rain is forecasted to gain momentum in the evening, just before the start time. Fingers crossed!
Teams
Probable XI for India: Smriti Mandhana, Jemima Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Veda Krishnamurthy, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Taniya Bhatiya (wk),Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy
Probable XI for South Africa: Lizelle Lee, Tazmin Brits (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Sune Luus (c), Mignon du Preez, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Nondumiso Shangase, Anne Bosch/Tumi Sekhukhune, Ayabonga Khaka and Shabnim Ismail
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Fantasy team
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My 11: Tazmin Brits (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana (c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Sune Luus, Lizelle Lee, Deepti Sharma, Shabnim Ismail (vc), Poonam Yadav, Radha Yadav
Players to watch out for
Smriti Mandhana (3), Jemimah Rodrigues (4), and Harmanpreet Kaur (9) feature in the top 10 list of the ICC Women’s T20I Rankings for batters. Mandhana especially has been in terrific form of late, having scored 4 half-centuries in her last 10 T20Is, including two spectacular innings of 83 and 86 against Australia and New Zealand respectively.
For South Africa, the onus of laying a solid foundation falls on Lizelle Lee, a muti-dimensional player who scores runs at a brisk rate, takes wickets at critical phases, and keeps wickets when needed.
South Africa’s success on the tour will largely depend on Shabnam Ismail, the No. 2 bowler in T20I Rankings. In the five-T20I series against India at home in 2018, she ended up taking the most wickets for them.
As discussed in the pitch report, batters will have to toil hard against the slow bowlers, and the duo of Poonam Yadav and her namesake Radha will be difficult to pick on; they are at Nos. 3 and 7 respectively in the bowling chart.
South Africa captain Sune Luus took 3 for 17 in the warm-up game. If anything, her leg-spin is best suited for the subcontinent pitches.
Deepti Sharma will be the player to watch out for in the series. She’s not only handy in the lower middle-order but also has a knack of picking important wickets with her off-spin.
Match prediction
India have lost only once in five completed T20Is against South Africa. Playing in home conditions further strengthens their case.
Squads
India Women: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma, Mansi Joshi, Jemimah Rodrigues, Pooja Vastrakar, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Shafali Verma
South Africa Women: Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Sune Luus (c), Lizelle Lee, Ayabonga Khaka, Lara Goodall, Laura Wolvaardt, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Anne Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Tazmin Brits, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Nonkululeko Mlaba
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