India Women vs South Africa Women, 2nd T20I, Surat: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

The margin of India Women‘s win in the first T20I, 11 runs, flattered South Africa Women to some extent. Chasing 131, they were reduced to 73/7 before some clean hitting from Mignon du Preez took them to 119. Even then, there was little doubt that the South Africans were in some discomfort against the Indian spinners – Poonam Yadav, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, and Harmanpreet Kaur. The teams will now meet for the second T20I of the 5-match series.

On the other hand, while the Indian spinners were fantastic, their batters struggled to get off the block. Harmanpreet Kaur’s power-hitting separated her from others on a pitch where excellent timers like Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues failed to accelerate. As is often the case, India Women suffered from the lack of batters who can make a difference in the death overs. That is something that needs to be addressed.

South Africa, deprived of the services of Dane van Niekerk, Chloe Tryon, and Marizanne Kapp, tried their best to make up for their lack of experience. The bowlers, led by the redoubtable Shabnim Ismail, bowled intelligently, but barring an initial onslaught from Lizelle Lee, the batting was all about du Preez. They really need to improve if they have to beat India on slow turners.

Head to head

India Women lead 5-1 here. South Africa’s only win came at home in 2017-18, but even there India had won the series 3-1.

Key players

Shafali Verma (India Women): Fifteen-year-old Varma, touted by many as one for the future, fell for a duck on debut, though her dismissal should be attributed to a spectacular catch. All eyes will be on her – again.

Sune Luus (South Africa Women): The South African captain had a poor game, giving away 14 in her only over and falling for a golden duck. A champion with both bat and ball, Luus will be keen to get back at the Indians.

Likely XIs

India Women: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav.

South Africa Women: Lizelle Lee (wk), Tazmin Brits, Laura Wolvaardt, Nadine de Klerk, Mignon du Preez, Sune Luus (c), Nondumiso Shangase, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba.

Prediction

The Indian spinners to give them a 2-0 lead.