FANTASY PREVIEW
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India – W W W W W
South Africa – W W W L W
Head to Head
India Women 9 - 5 South Africa Women
South Africa Women won by 5 wickets (2023)
Venue details
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
The venue has hosted only four Women's T20Is, all during the Women’s T20 World Cup 2016. Even in Men’s cricket, the venue has hosted only the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches 2019 onwards.
In those matches since 2023, the scores have ranged from 217/7 to 113 all out. Hence, it is tough to estimate which kind of pitch will be dished out for this contest.
However, spinners have always had the upper hand here. They have bowled 40% of the overs in Men’s T20s in this time frame, picking 34% of the wickets. These are great numbers for spinners at any venue, especially considering an economy of only 7.5.
While it is a stretch to equate Men’s cricket numbers with Women’s cricket, this is our best estimate to anticipate the nature of the match from a fantasy point of view.
Weather conditions
Rain could play the spoilsport in the first fixture of this three-match T20I series. At night, the chances of rain are constantly above 50%.
Players to watch out for
Richa Ghosh: The wicketkeeper batter has the second-highest strike rate for an Indian batter in WT20Is since 2023. In addition, she averages 33.3, again the second-highest for an Indian batter. Richa also comes from a thick vein of form, having scored 86 in the recently concluded Women’s Test in Chennai. Prior to that, she also had a good 2024 Women’s Premier League season — 257 runs, 42.8 average, 142 strike rate.
Smriti Mandhana: The left-handed batter is one of the must-have picks in your Fantasy XI throughout the series. Mandhana amassed two hundreds and a score of 90 in the ODI leg of this series. In the one-off Test, she struck 149. She is also the highest run-scorer for India in the format since 2023 with 655 runs.
Marizanne Kapp: The veteran is one of the most celebrated all-rounders in Women’s cricket. For South Africa in the shortest format, she has the third-most runs (385 runs) averaging 27.5. Meanwhile, she also has the third-most wickets (15) while going at an economy of only 6.3. In her last four WT20Is, she has scores of 75, 60 and 44 with the bat.
Cricket.com’s suggested Fantasy XI
Probable Playing XI
India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harmanpreet Kaur ( c ), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh
South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt ( c ), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Masabata Klaas
Streaming and Telecast details
The match will begin at 7 PM IST on July 5 and will be streamed and telecasted on Jio Cinema and Sports18.
