IND-W vs SA-W: Five players to watch out for in the three-match T20I series

India Women recently lost to the South African Women team by 4-1 in the ODI series. Both teams will now clash in a three-match T20I series starting Saturday, 20th March. The Indian team will be playing their first T20I match after the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup where they reached the finals. They would now like to make a strong comeback after being dominated by the Proteas team in the 50-over format. Let’s discuss the 5 players to watch out for in the upcoming series.

5. Shafali Verma

Shafali Verma was the most successful Indian batter in the T20 WC and played a crucial part in taking the team to the finals of the tournament. The explosive opener scored 163 runs at an average of 32.60 and strike rate of 158.25. She will be raring to go in the shortest format returning to the field after over one year.

4. Poonam Yadav

Just like Shafali Verma with the bat, Poonam Yadav performed brilliantly with the ball in the T20 WC. She picked up 10 wickets in 5 matches with an incredible average of 11.90 including one 4-wicket haul as well. Though Poonam did not get a single wicket in the ODI series against Proteas, she would like to improve her numbers in the 20-over format.

3. Smriti Mandhana

Indian opener Smriti Mandhana will have a crucial role to play in this series. She is one of the most impactful batters in Women’s cricket right now and has the ability to take the game away from oppositions’ reach very quickly. She scored 147 runs in the ODI series with the help of one fifty. The left-hander has played 75 T20Is so far in which she has accumulated 1716 runs at an average of 25.20.

2. Laura Wolvaardt

Laura Wolvaardt is considered among the most talented batters right now in Women’s cricket. She recently became the youngest South African woman to complete 2000 ODI runs. In the T20I World Cup last year, she scored at an impressive strike rate of 149.20 which included a half-century.

1. Marizanne Kapp

Proteas allrounder Marizanne Kapp is among the senior-most players of the current squad. Her role will be vital for the visitors in the series. She has taken 62 wickets in 81 T20Is played so far. Apart from that, she also has 986 runs to her name in the shortest format.