1st ODI: Indian women's team look for winning start against South Africa
The 1st ODI between the Indian women's team and South Africa will be played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Pooja Vastrakar defended 11-runs in the final over to hand the hosts a 2-0 lead in the series. (Photo credits: BCCI)
The highly anticipated cricket series between the Indian women's cricket team and South Africa is set to commence on Sunday, promising an exciting contest between two formidable sides.
The first ODI of the three-match series between the India and South Africa women will take place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
The match will start at 1:30 PM.
The tricky weather of Bengaluru, however, could play a spoilsport as there are high chances of rain, according to weather.com
Head-to-head
Head-to-Head: India Women vs South Africa
Matches played: 28
India: 15
South Africa: 12
No result: 1
Last result: South Africa won by three wickets in Christchurch, 2022.
In India
Total played: 12
India: 6
South Africa: 6
Last result: South Africa won by five wickets in Lucknow, 2021.
Injury Updates and Probable XI
Batter Jemmiah Rodrigues who missed the Bangladesh series due to a back injury is back in the side along with Pooja Vastrakar.
Pooja, however, missed the practice game and her place in the side is still uncertain. Uncapped wicketkeeper batter Uma Chettry has also been included in the squad in place of Yastika Bhatia, who suffered an injury during the Bangladesh T20Is.
India’s Probable XI: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandana (vice-captain), Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Jemmiah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Shreyanka Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Radha Yadav.
Meanwhile, Tazmin Brits is back into the Proteas women's side after recovering from the meniscus tear, wicketkeeper Meike de Ridder is also included in the side after her finger injury during the Srilanka series. However, Chloe Tyron and Lara Goodall missed out due to their back and hamstring injuries.
South Africa’s Probable XI: Laura Wolvaardt (captain), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Shabnim Ismail, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Delmi Tucker.
Coaches' corner
The Proteas will miss their longtime coach Hilton Moreeng, who stepped down after 11 years. Captain Wolvaardt has acknowledged the situation but the team has shown faith in the principles of their interim coach Dillon du Preez, who has been with the setup for several years now.
Meanwhile, India’s women’s coach Amol Mazumdar who took over the Indian team in December has expressed his focus on fielding and fitness, speaking to the media during the press conference. Mazumdar also believes that they had a great run in Bangladesh and the games there will help them in the upcoming T20 World Cup later this year.
Further, Amol expressed his opinions on Smriti Mandhana.
"She is a fantastic leader. We do have a leadership group within the team and Smriti is a big factor in that," Muzumdar said. "Going forward, she definitely has got a role to play. She has a good camaraderie with the current captain Harmanpreet Kaur and we are all working together. She is definitely a fantastic leader as we've seen in the WPL. She has won the title for RCB."
The series will also feature one-off Test and a three-match T20I series.