Team India will look to get as much practice as they can in the tri-series in South Africa ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup next month. India locks horns with West Indies and hosts South Africa in what promises to be an exciting tri-series. Harmanpreet Kaur and her team will hope to iron out any flaws that they feel are necessary, heading into the all-important ICC T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa.
India will be without the services of Richa Ghosh and Shafali Verma. The two talented players are currently a part of the Indian U19 side that is playing in the inaugural ICC Under 19 Women’s T20 World Cup. Verma is leading that side while Ghosh will be behind the stumps, assisting her friend.
The Women in Blue ended the previous year by going down 1-4 to Australia in a 5-match T20I series in their own backyard. The bowlers conceded a lot of runs throughout the five matches. The lowest score for Australia in 20 overs was 172 for 8 in the 3rd T20I. India lost that encounter by 21 runs.
Shafali Verma was the top scorer for India in the series with 140 runs from 5 matches. Harmanpreet Kaur was just behind her with 137 runs from 5 matches. Deepti Sharma and Smriti Mandhana scored 128 runs each. The former was quite impressive in the series as she finished with an average of 64. Deepti was also the highest wicket-taker for India with 6 wickets in 5 matches.
READ MORE: Women’s T20I Tri-Series 2023: Squads, Fixtures, Live Streaming Details And All You Need To Know
The return of Shikha Pandey will surely benefit the Indian team. The 32-year-old will bring a lot of experience to the table and that can come in handy in crunch situations.
India squad for the tri-series in South Africa:
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice Captain), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Devika Vaidya, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur, Meghna Singh, Anjali Sarvani, Shushma Verma (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar (subject to fitness), Sabbhineni Meghana, Sneh Rana, Shikha Pandey
Schedule:
January 19, Thursday: India vs South Africa – Buffalo Park – 10:30 PM IST
January 21, Saturday: South Africa vs West Indies – Buffalo Park – 6:30 PM IST
January 23, Monday: India vs West Indies – Buffalo Park – 10:30 PM IST
January 25, Wednesday: South Africa vs West Indies – Buffalo Park – 6:30 PM IST
January 28, Saturday: South Africa vs India – Buffalo Park – 10:30 PM IST
January 30, Monday: India vs West Indies – Buffalo Park – 6:30 PM IST
February 2, Thursday: Final – Buffalo Park – 6:30 PM IST
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