3 player battles to watch out for in the SA-W vs India-W tri-series final
India Women will take on South Africa Women in the final of the tri-series at Buffalo Park in East London on Wednesday, February 2. The two teams have already met twice in this series, with India winning the opening contest and the second game being washed out due to rain.
The Women in Blue are unbeaten in the tri-series so far, which bodes well for them leading into the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, the Proteas have had off-field issues to deal with and will also be without the services of Marizanne Kapp for this contest.
With everything to play for in this final, neither side will want to leave a stone unturned to end up on the right side of the result. The team winning this final could gain a real confidence boost heading into the T20 World Cup, which gets underway next week.
Here, we take a look at three player battles to keep an eye out for in this final:
#1 Smriti Mandhana vs Shabnim Ismail
It doesn't get any better than this match-up, does it? India's best batter against South Africa's most lethal bowler. Smriti Mandhana hasn't had the most fruitful series so far, scoring 86 runs in four matches. The elegant southpaw batter is without her partner-in-crime, Shafali Verma, and has had to do the bulk of the heavy lifting herself.
Coming up against one of the quickest bowlers in the women's game, one wouldn't expect Mandhana to back down from a challenge. Well, the same is true for Shabnim Ismail, who can be an absolute menace when she is on song. The Protea quick has played only one game in this tri-series, which was a washed-out match against India. Hopefully, this time around, the weather relents and allows us to witness an engaging contest.
#2 Laura Wolvaardt vs Renuka Singh
Laura Wolvaardt is the mainstay of this South African batting unit and one of the brightest players in the lineup. The 23-year-old sits at the top of the order, trusted with the responsibility of laying the platform for her side more often than not. With Marizanne Kapp not involved in this final due to personal reasons, the focus will be on Wolvaardt to set the tone for her side.
Her first-up challenge will be against one of the most in-form bowlers in the world at the moment. Winning the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year award, Renuka Singh has had a stellar time ever since making it into the Indian side. After missing out on a couple of games in this series, India's ace pacer will be back on the hunt for wickets to do the job for her side.
#3 Harmanpreet Kaur vs Nonkululeko Mlaba
Nonkululeko Mlaba has enjoyed a decent run in this tri-series with four wickets to her name. The left-arm spinner bagged a couple of wickets in the opening contest against the Women in Blue, dismissing Jemimah Rodrigues and Devika Vaidya to derail India's middle order.
However, the Protea spinner will have a tougher task ahead of her with the Indian captain returning to the side after missing out on the first game. Harmanpreet Kaur is known for her array of sweeps and heavily relies on them to build her innings. Keeping that in mind, the challenge against the left-arm spinner is definitely one to keep an eye on.