Outplayed in the five-match One-day International series, India will look to start afresh in the three-match T20 series against South Africa, beginning in Lucknow on Saturday. But they will be without captain Harmanpreet Kaur in the series opener due to an injury.

Apart from the nine-wicket win in the second match, the hosts failed to fire as a unit against their South African counterparts, who looked in good rhythm throughout the series. In the words of skipper Mithali Raj, India was underprepared in their first international series in a year.

But after five ODI games, the last T20 World Cup’s runners-up will be hoping to redeem themselves in the shorter format with a relatively different team lineup.

The big lessons for underprepared India after comprehensive ODI series loss

Teen sensation Shafali Verma will be back as the opener to partner stand-in skipper Smriti Mandhana. In the ODIs, India missed a consistent start with Jemimah Rodrigues short of runs. Verma’s last international outing was the 2020 T20 World Cup, where she was the standout player for India.

Harleen Deol and Richa Ghosh will also look to make use of the chances that they get to show their skills in the middle order.

Without injured Harmanpreet and retired Mithali Raj and ODI specialist Punam Raut – the three standout batters in ODIs – the batting will be an area of concern. Rodrigues could get a chance in the captain’s absence while newcomer Ayushi Soni could also be in line for a debut.

In the one-dayers, the hosts’ bowling was too dependent on veteran Jhulan Goswami as the spinners, save Rajeshwari Gayakwad (8 wickets), failed to make a mark, which is one of the prime reasons for the loss.

But the retired Goswami won’t be around in T20Is and the onus will be on Arundhati Reddy and Manshi Joshi as well as newcomer Monica Patel, who got a debut in the ODIs.

Senior leg-spinner Poonam Yadav and spin all-rounder Deepti Sharma were dropped from the fifth ODI and will look to bounce back in the shortest format if given a chance. Radha Yadav, who played her first ODI before being dropped, will also to make the most in the format she is more experienced in while C Prathyusha could also get a debut in T20Is.

South Africa, on the other hand, have looked like a well-oiled machine as both their batters and bowlers have excelled in the tour.

Opening batswoman Lizelle Lee, who topped the runscorers list with 288 runs in four matches with scores of 83 not out, 4, 132 not out and 69, will once again look to dominate the proceedings. She was ably supported by Mignon du Preez (166 runs) and Laura Wolvaardt (154 runs) and it will be a real test for the Indian bowling attack to tame them.

Pacer Shabnim Ismail (7 wickets) and Tumi Sekhukhune (5 wickets) have been their most successful bowlers, while medium pacers Marizanne Kapp (3) and Nadine de Klerk (3) too have chipped in with useful spells.
The match starts at 7pm IST on Star Sports 2 and Hotstar

Squads

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Harleen Deol, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parveen (wicket-keeper), Ayushi Soni, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Mansi Joshi, Monica Patel, C. Prathyusha, Simran Dil Bahadur.

South Africa: Sune Luus (captain), Ayabonga Khaka, Shabnim Ismail, Laura Wolvaardt, Trisha Chetty, Sinalo Jafta, Tasmin Britz, Marizanne Kapp, Nondumiso Shangase, Lizelle Lee, Anneke Bosch, Faye Tunnicliffe, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Mignon du Preez, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Tumi Sekhukhune.