India Women will be desperate for a win when they take on South Africa Women in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series in Lucknow on Sunday. They had succumbed to their fourth consecutive defeat against the visitors on Saturday, as their eight-wicket defeat in the first T20I came after defeats in the last three ODIs. They had lost the ODIs 1-4.
India’s problems in the T20I were similar to the ones they faced in the ODIs. The batters, while solid, didn’t score quickly enough. The bowlers, on the other hand, lacked the sting to trouble the South Africans. Barring the second ODI, the visitors have looked better prepared every time the two sides met on the tour despite India’s home advantage.
Shafali Verma was back in the squad after sitting out of the ODI leg. Even though she played some attractive shots to start her innings off, all she could manage was 23 in 22 balls. Smriti Mandhana (11), stand-in skipper in absence of Harmanpreet Kaur, was dismissed early as well. It was Harleen Deol (52) and Jemimah Rodrigues (30) who propelled the Indian Eves to 130/6.
However, that wasn’t enough to defend for the Indian bowlers considering the kind of form the South Africans were in. Though India got Lizelle Lee (8) early, Anneke Bosch (66 not out) and Sune Luus (43) powered South Africa to an emphatic victory with eight wickets and five balls to spare. Arundhati Reddy and Deol were the only wicket-takers for India.
Among South African bowlers, Shabnim Ismail continued his exploits with three wickets, and is unlikely to lose zing. With the wickets of Deol and Rodrigues, Bosch had established her credentials as all-rounder. And Marizanne Kapp is waiting in the wings.
Conditions: The deck appeared good for batting in the first match. There was assistance for the seamers initially but dew played a major role, which will affect the side bowling second. The captain winning the toss should opt to field first.
Team News
India missed the services of Harmanpreet Kaur in the first match as she suffered an injury. There is no update about her status yet. It remains to be seen whether she features in this match. South Africa are expected to go unchanged.
Probable playing XIs
India Women: Smriti Mandhana (c), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Nuzhat Parween (wk), Simran Bahadur, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Arundhati Reddy
South Africa Women: Lizelle Lee, Anne Bosch, Sune Luus (c), Laura Wolvaardt, Mignon du Preez, Lara Goodall, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba
Key Players
Shafali Verma (India): Shafali played some delightful shots in the first T20I but she couldn’t go on to get a big score. From T20Is, she has scored over 500 runs at a strike-rate of 144, significantly better than any other Indian batter..
Anne Bosch (South Africa): Bosch impressed in the last match with both bat and ball. She dismissed the set duo of Deol and Rodrigues in the death overs, then went on to score 66 not out in 48 balls to guide South Africa to victory. They will be banking on her to deliver an equally good performance in this match.