When and Where to Watch India Women vs South Africa Women, Live Streaming, Match Preview, Timings, and Pitch Report for 1st T20I

India would aim to shrug off the defeats and be on their toes against a fairly competitive side.

Published - 19 Mar 2021, 19:32 IST | Updated - 19 Mar 2021, 19:32 IST

3 Min Read

Having taken a 4-1 beating by South Africa Women in the five-match ODI series, India will enter into the second leg from 20th March 2021 with three T20Is to be played at Lucknow. Barring the second ODI in the series, when Jhulan Goswami and Rajeshwari Gayakwad wrecked the visitors with the ball, wrapping them for a paltry 157 before Smriti Mandhana and Punam Raut chased the target inside 29 overs, hardly anything has gone India’s way.

They had an opportunity to finish the series on a high, taking some winning momentum behind themselves before they enter into the T20I series, and they did push South Africa into trouble, reducing them to 27/3 at one stage after posting an unimposing 188 on the back of Mithali Raj’s brilliant 79, but the visitors dug in to eke out a five-wicket victory to take the series convincingly.

Would a change in the format change India’s fortunes? Statistically, India holds an evident edge over their rivals in the format – they have won 7 out of the total 9 completed T20I encounters thus far. South Africa has no more than a solitary T20I victory in India: a 105-run win which came during their 5-match tour, which they lost 2-1 (two matches were abandoned) in 2019.

India would aim to shrug off the defeats and be on its toes against a fairly competitive side. However, to go by recent form, Indian Women have played no T20 cricket keeping aside the 4 Women’s Challenger games during the IPL, whereas South Africa clean-swept Pakistan 3-0 in the recent series at home.

Pitch and conditions

The track at Lucknow has proven to be assistive for both spinners and pacers. While batters who played time were able to reap rewards, a hurried or overtly aggressive approach hurt them. Given the caravan now moves to the shorter version of the game, expect a more batting-friendly surface.

Playing combination for India Women vs South Africa Women

India Women

Jemimah Rodrigues had a forgettable ODI series at the top, and in the absence of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who is ruled out from the first T20I owing to an injury, she would want to assist a settled order of batters including the likes of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, who is set to lead.

Predicted XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana (C), Nuzhat Parween, Jemimah Rodrigues, Sushma Verma (WK), Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, Mansi Joshi

Bench: Harmanpreet Kaur, Simran Bahadur, Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh, Monica Patel, Challuru Prathyusha, Arundhati Reddy, Ayushi Soni

South Africa Women

Lizelle Lee was in sensational form with the bat in the series, and she was well assisted by Lara Goodall and Laura Wolvaardt. Given their recent form, they would aim to leave a mark in the T20I series, as would Shabnim Ismail, who ended up as the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series.

Predicted XI: Lizelle Lee, Tasmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp/Lara Goodall, Laura Wolvaardt, Mignon du Preez, Sune Luus (C), Sinalo Jafta (WK), Shabnim Ismail, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Nondumiso Shangase, Ayabonga Khaka

Bench: Lara Goodall, Trisha Chetty, Nadine de Klerk, Anneke Bosch, Faye Tunnicliffe, Tumi Sekhukhune