A half-hour delay for lightning did little to change Laura Wolvaardt’s mind: South Africa will chase once more, aiming to wrap up the women’s T20I series against India at the Wanderers.
“We’ve chased well so far, so we’ll back ourselves again even if the match gets shortened,” the South African captain said at the toss. Rain is expected on and off through the evening, though the umpires were able to keep the original 20-over allocation.
South Africa, already 2-0 up, have freshened their XI. Teenager Kayla Reyneke, fully recovered from the illness that ruled her out of the Durban leg, replaces Anneke Bosch and is likely to finish the innings at No. 5. Seamer Ayanda Hlubi comes in for the experienced Ayabonga Khaka to offer extra pace on a surface that traditionally skids on under lights.
India, searching for a consolation win, have tinkered more heavily. Renuka Singh and Kashvee Gautam return to provide new-ball bite, with left-arm spinner Shree Charani left out. Batter Bharti Fulmali, last seen in an India shirt five years ago, is handed the No. 6 slot in place of youngster Anushka Sharma. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur explained the logic simply: “We felt an extra seamer and a bit more power in the middle order could make the difference tonight.”
A lively surface, a decent breeze and big boundaries usually mean scores in the 150s here, but any rain interruption will shove the advantage firmly towards the chasers. South Africa have won both previous games from similar positions; India need early wickets to alter that pattern.
South Africa XI: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Sune Luus, Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Kayla Reyneke, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Tumi Sekhukhune, Ayanda Hlubi, Nonkululeko Mlaba.
India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Kashvee Gautam, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Singh.
Series to date: South Africa lead 2-0; victory tonight would complete a clean sweep.
