In the opening women’s Twenty20 international match between India and South Africa in Chennai, Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and chose to bowl.
Harmanpreet saw that a black-soil Chepauk surface would be vulnerable, so they decided to try a three-pronged spin attack. For the record, this is the first women’s Twenty20 international match played in India at this location.
The management of the squad chose to select left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, who was the Player of the Series in Bangladesh, with Asha Sobhana and Deepti Sharma, surprising everyone by leaving out offspinner Shreyanka Patil from the India XI.
With Yastika Bhatia still out with an injury, D Hemalatha had a chance to take control of the No. 3 place in the batting order. She performed well in four of the five games she participated in in Bangladesh. It was the 50th T20I for Richa Ghosh.
Despite having to bat first, Laura Wolvaardt wasn’t too displeased. All-arounder Chloe Tryon’s comeback, having missed the first portion of the tour due to a back ailment, gave South Africa hope. Tazmin Brits, the opener, also made a comeback after being sick and missing the Test.
For both teams, the series represents their final stretch of training before the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October. This may be South Africa’s final series before the World Cup, but India will be looking forward to the Women’s Asia Cup later this month.
India, who won the one-off Test in Chennai last week and the ODIs 3-0, are aiming to sweep the whole trip.
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh
South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Eliz-Mari Marx, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba
