Women's World T20 Cup

1st Match: SA-W vs SL-W

Preview

The 8th edition of the Women's T20 WC 2023 is all set to begin in Newlands, Cape Town on Friday, 10th February at 10:30 PM IST. The Hosts SA-W will lock horns with SL-W in the tournament's first match. Being the hosts, Proteas Women will have the edge, as the Hosts will be familiar with the conditions. However, you can never discount any team in this format.

SA-W couldn’t have come into the T20 WC with better preparation. Proteas Women recently won a Women's T20I Tri-Series held in South Africa, beating Women in Blue in the finals by 5 wickets. The team has had sufficient practice in these conditions and would be itching to go.

The veteran right-handed batter Tazmin Brits (182 runs in the last 7 matches at an average of 45.50 and a strike rate of 98.91) and 23-year-old batter Laura Wolvaardt (176 runs in the last 10 matches at an average of 29.33 and a strike rate of 101.14) are the two main in-form batters to watch out for from SA-W in this tournament. Both the opening batters will be pivotal for the team’s chances in the tournament. Another 29-year-old right-handed batter Chloe Tryon, who scored an unbeaten 57 off 32 balls against India in the Women's T20I Tri-Series final, is another batter who can make an impact in the middle-order.

Proteas Women has plenty of bowlers for these conditions as they are well aware of most of the grounds in their backyard. The experienced veteran bowler Shabnim Ismail will be taking the new ball in the tournament and she will be playing a crucial role. The right-arm pacer bowler has grabbed 115 wickets in 106 T20I innings at an average of 18.80 and an economy of 5.75. The 22-year-old slow left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, who often takes the new ball, is in form and had picked up 6 wickets in the Women's T20I Tri-Series recently in 5 innings at an economy of just 3.25. Another bowler to keep an eye out for is medium-pacer Masabata Marie Klaas who has 9 wickets in her last 6 matches at an economy of 7.76.

Lankan Women haven’t played a T20I since October 2022. SL-W made the finals of the Women’s T20 Asia Championship, where the side was beaten comprehensively by India by 8 wickets.

They will kick off their tournament against the Hosts this Friday. SL-W will be hoping their batting unit delivers what their staff is looking for from them. The left-handed batter Harshitha Madavi is their in-form batter and was the leading run-getter in last year’s Asia Champion for Sri Lanka, collecting 202 runs in 8 innings at a strike rate of 92.33. The right-arm slow medium Harshitha Samarawickrama (208 runs in the last 10 matches at an average of 20.80 and a strike rate of 90.43) and the 33-year-old experienced batter Nilakshi de Silva (166 runs in the last 10 matches at an average of 20.75 and a strike rate of 91.71) will be the mainstays of the team’s middle-order.

The skipper of the side Chamari Athapaththu experience will be crucial for her side. Athapaththu has 2181 runs in 104 T20I innings at an average of 21.38 and a strike rate of 102.05. Among the bowlers, keep an eye out for the 36-year-old slow-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera. She was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2022 Women’s T20 Asia Championship, taking 13 wickets in 8 innings at an economy of 4.65. Another SL-W spinner Kavisha Dilhari (8 wickets in the last 9 matches at an economy of 6.04) will also be handy on these surfaces. SL-W, however, does lack an experienced seamer for these conditions.

Match Details

Match: SA-W vs SL-W, 1st Match, Women's World T20 Cup

Date: Friday, 10 February

Time: 10:30 PM

Venue: Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa

Pitch & Weather Report

Newlands Stadium in Cape Town is known to be bowler-friendly which provides some good swing to seamers. There’s considerable bounce and movement on offer here for the fast bowlers. It’s also one of the few grounds in SA that assists spin bowlers. However, batters will have their chance of making runs once they get used to the pace of the wicket.

The average score batting first at this venue in women’s T20Is is 133. Only 5 women’s T20Is have been played at the venue so far. The highest total posted here is 166-4 by IND-W against the proteas women in 2018. The team batting first in this match should look to set a target of around 165 runs.

The maximum temperature will remain at 28°C, with a low of 16°C with 54% humidity, and a cool wind speed of 24 Km/hr for the first 1st Match, the Women's World T20 Cup on Feb 10. The weather in Cape Town during the game will be warm but pleasant on this match day.

SA-W vs SL-W Squad:

SA-W: Sune Luus (c), Chloe Tryon (vc), Sinalo Jafta (wk), Tebogo Macheke (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Lara Goodall, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Delmi Tucker.

SL-W: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Oshadi Ranasinghe, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Anushka Sanjeewani, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasuriya, Vishmi Gunaratne, Tharika Sewwandi, Ama Kanchana, Sathya Sandeepani.

SA-W vs SL-W: Probable XIs

SA-W: Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Lara Goodall, Sune Luus (c), Chloe Tryon, Annerie Dercksen, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba

SL-W: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Harshitha Madavi, Tharika Sewwandi, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Malsha Shehani, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaweera, Achini Kulasuriya

Match Prediction

Both sides have played 13 T20Is played. SA-W has won 10 of those encounters, while SL-W has just won 3. The Hosts also comfortably won all the past 5 T20Is they have played against Lankan Women, the last of which was a 10-wicket win in the 2022 Commonwealth Games Women's Cricket. Playing at home, and with the form they are in, SA-Women will begin as clear favourites for this opening encounter on Friday against Sri Lanka.

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