Why are India-W wearing black armbands in today's ODI match vs South Africa in Bengaluru?
The India women's team are currently playing their South African counterparts in the third and final ODI of the ongoing series at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The hosts have already won the series, beating the visitors in the first two games at the same venue.
India outplayed South Africa in the first ODI, winning by a massive margin of 143 runs. The Proteas made a decent comeback following the crushing defeat and came close to winning the second game. Captain Laura Walvaardt tried her best in a steep chase of 326 with a magnificent knock of 135* (135), but her team narrowly lost the match by four runs.
The Indian players are sporting black armbands in the ongoing third game as a sign of respect to former cricketer David Johnson, who passed away on Thursday (June 20). He played two Tests for the India men's team in 1996, picking up three wickets. The pacer represented Karnataka in the domestic circuit.
BCCI gave an official update on the matter with a post on X, which read:
"Team India is wearing black armbands today in the third and final ODI against South Africa, in memory of former Indian fast bowler David Johnson, who passed away on Thursday."
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to bat first in 3rd ODI vs India
South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaard won the coin toss and opted to bat first in the third ODI. They replaced Masabata Klaas with Tumi Sekhukhune in the bowling department for this contest.
The home team made two changes to their playing XI, intending to give a chance to players on the bench for the dead rubber. Dayalan Hemalatha and Asha Sobhana made way for Priya Punia and Shreyanka Patil, respectively.
Here are the playing XIs of both the teams for this contest:
India Women (Playing XI): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Priya Punia, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil.
South Africa Women (Playing XI): Laura Wolvaardt(c), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk, Nondumiso Shangase, Mieke de Ridder(w), Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka.
Do you think the Proteas team can salvage their pride with a win in the 3rd ODI and avoid whitewash? Let us know your views in the comments section below.