ABOUT THE MATCH
In an extension to their WT20i series, India and South Africa will meet again at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium in Surat. India leads the series 3-0, and the final game will take place on October 4.
India has won three games so far, with the other two washed out. The gap between matches did not prevent the Indian bowlers picking up where they left off prior to the rain, however, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, and Radha Yadav have all been in the wickets. With the bat, Harmanpreet Kaur has top-scored for the hosts in two out of three matches, with India favourites now to make it four wins from four.
South Africa, meanwhile, are outsiders having failed to score enough runs so far. Laura Wolvaardt has top-scored in the last two games and yet has still only scored 40 runs across those two matches. Shabnim Ismail’s bowling is another positive, but the Proteas have a big gap to make up if they are to end this series on a high.
TOSS PREDICTION
India won the toss for the first time in the last game and consequently elected to field first for the first time too. If Harmanpreet Kaur wins the toss again this time, it could be a similar decision in-store.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
The reason for this extra game is the upturn in the weather forecast at the end of what has otherwise been a frustrating week at times. The sun is due to shine on the cricket.
The slow, Surat wicket has been tough for batting. Spinners have picked up plenty of wickets and the pace bowlers’ own success has been evident that this is a wicket for bowlers of all sorts – it is not one for the batsmen.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF INDIA WOMEN
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey
PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF SOUTH AFRICA WOMEN
Lizelle Lee (wk), Trisha Chetty, Tazmin Brits, Laura Wolvaardt, Nadine de Klerk, Mignon du Preez, Sune Luus (c), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune, Anneke Bosch
MATCH PREVIEW
INDIA WOMEN
- India has stuck with the same team in all three matches so far, with the focus clearly on building momentum.
- The extra game could be a chance for some rotation, but Anuja Patil and Arundhati Reddy are yet to feature.
- After a long streak without winning, it is India’s turn to put together a good run of results now.
- The hosts have an unassailable 3-0 lead in this series, with the bowlers in particular impressing. Deepti Sharma has six wickets, as does Poonam Yadav, while Radhav Yadav has gone one better with seven.
- Harmanpreet Kaur’s batting has complemented those bowling efforts to earn India three wins from three with two wash-outs.
SOUTH AFRICA WOMEN
- Anneke Bosch made her WT20i debut last time out so only Trisha Chetty has not played so far in this series for the Proteas.
- With the batting struggling, she would add experience if recalled at the top of the order.
- South Africa have been outplayed in this series so far, failing to get after the Indian bowlers.
- They have a high score of 119 from the first game so far.
- There have been some highlights Mignon du Preez’s half-century and Nadine de Klerk and Shabnim Ismail’s five wickets apiece but South Africa has otherwise fallen well below India’s standard.
PROBABLE WINNING TEAM:
India have won all three completed games so far and South Africa are going to need a big batting improvement if they are to get anything from this game. India is big favorites for a reason.
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