South Africa bowl first in pursuit of T20I series win against India

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South Africa bowl first in pursuit of T20I series win against India

South Africa made two changes to their team, while India made three

Firdose Moonda

Firdose Moonda

Published: Apr 22, 2026, 4:40 PM
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt and India captain Harmanpreet Kaur at the toss, South Africa vs India, 1st T20I, Durban, April 17, 2026

South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt chose to bowl in Johannesburg  •  Creimas for BCCI

Toss South Africa chose to bowl v India

India were put in to bat for the third successive match in the T20I series as Laura Wolvaardt was swayed by the possibility of a shortened match. Lightning delayed the toss by 45 minutes and the start of play by half an hour and thunderstorms were forecast through the evening. No overs were lost despite the delay.

South Africa have won both matches chasing so far and backed themselves to do it again, especially with the return of young finisher Kayla Reyneke. The former under-19 captain missed the Durban leg with illness but returned in place of Anneke Bosch while Ayanda Hlubi replaced Ayabonga Khaka in the pace attack.

India made three changes to the XI that lost on Sunday. In anticipation of pace and bounce, they brought back seamers Kashvee Gautam, who debuted in match one, and Renuka Singh. Anushka Sharma, Kranti Gaud and left-arm spinner Shree Charani were left out as India also chose to boost the batting line-up. Bharti Fulmali, who played two T20Is back in 2019, was slotted at No.6 on comeback.

South Africa: 1 Laura Wolvaardt (capt), 2 Sune Luus, 3 Tazmin Brits, 4 Annerie Dercksen, 5 Kayla Reyneke, 6 Chloe Tryon, 7 Nadine de Klerk, 8 Sinalo Jafta (wk), 9 Tumi Sekhukhune, 10 Ayanda Hlubi, 11 Nonkululekho Mlaba

India: 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Richa Ghosh, 6 Bharti Fulmali, 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Kashvee Gautam, 9 Arundhati Reddy, 10, Shreyanka Patil, 10 Renuka Singh

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s senior correspondent for Africa and women’s cricket