India opt for a three-pronged spin attack, with no place for Patil in the XI
Richa Ghosh got a special cap for her 50th T20I game  •  BCCI
Toss India chose to bowl vs South Africa
Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and India elected to bowl in first women’s T20I against South Africa in Chennai.
They opted for a three-pronged spin attack on a black-soil Chepauk surface Harmanpreet felt would take turn. For the record, this is India’s first women’s T20I at this venue.
Shreyanka Patil, the offspinner, was a surprise exclusion from India’s XI, with the team management opting to field left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, who was the Player of the Series in Bangladesh, instead, with Asha Sobhana and Deepti Sharma.
In the batting, D Hemalatha got an opportunity to make the No. 3 spot her own with Yastika Bhatia still missing due to an injury. She played four of the five games in Bangladesh with positive returns. It was Richa Ghosh’s 50th T20I.
Laura Wolvaardt wasn’t too disappointed having to bat first. South Africa were boosted by the return of allrounder Chloe Tryon, who missed the earlier part of the tour with a back injury. Opener Tazmin Brits also returned after missing the Test due to illness.
The series is seen as the last lap of preparation for both these sides leading into the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh this October. While India have the Women’s Asia Cup to look forward to later this month, this could likely be South Africa’s last series leading into the World Cup.
India are looking for a sweep of the entire tour, having won the ODIs 3-0 apart from winning the one-off Test in Chennai last week.
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh
South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Eliz-Mari Marx, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
