Anushka Debuts for India; SA Unchanged, Opts to Bowl First
Durban, April 19 — India handed a debut to batting all-rounder Anushka Sharma for the second T20I at Kingsmead. Kranti Gaud also returned to the playing eleven as South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl.
South Africa lead the five-match series 1-0. They beat India by six wickets in the opener at the same venue on Friday.
Team changes and selection
India made two changes for Sunday’s match. Harmanpreet Kaur confirmed Anushka and Kranti replaced Renuka Singh Thakur and Kashvee Gautam, who were rested.
Anushka enjoyed a strong WPL season. She scored 177 runs in seven matches for Gujarat Giants, averaging 25.28 with a strike-rate of 129.19.
She also impressed for India A. Anushka tallied 116 runs in five innings, averaging 23.20 with a strike-rate of 104.50 as India A won the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars title in Bangkok.
Captains on conditions and tactics
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt said the surface looked slightly slower. She added that chasing would provide clarity later in the contest and noted there are still four matches left in the series.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said the team debated bowling first. She admitted bowling plans in the first game did not go to plan, while batting was acceptable.
Milestone
Sunday’s match marked Shafali Verma’s 100th T20I appearance. She remains the youngest T20I debutant for India women and is the third youngest player worldwide to reach 100 T20I caps.
Playing XIs
- India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Arundhati Reddy, Anushka Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Deepti Sharma, Sree Charani, Kranti Gaud.
- South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Sune Luus, Tazmin Brits, Annerie Dercksen, Anneke Bosch, Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba.
Filmogaz.com notes Anushka debuts for India, while South Africa remained unchanged and opted to bowl first.
