3 player battles to watch out for in IND-W vs SA-W tri-series match

The Indian women's cricket team will kickstart their final round of preparations for the T20 World Cup when they take on South Africa and West Indies in a tri-series starting on Thursday, January 19.

The Women in Blue will go up against hosts South Africa in the first T20I. The teams will play each other twice in the round-robin phase before the top two sides play the final, with each game set to be played at Buffalo Park in East London.

Harmanpreet Kaur will lead India as always with a bumper squad to pick from for the series. The team, however, will have to do without Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, with the duo currently playing the ICC Women's U19 T20 World Cup in South Africa.

With South Africa set to host the senior Women's T20 World Cup next month, this is a crucial series as far as India's preparations are concerned.

Ahead of their tri-series opener, let's look at three player battles that could determine the fate of the contest.

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#1 Shabnim Ismail vs Smriti Mandhana

Every time Smriti Mandhana strides out to bat, the hopes of an entire nation are pinned firmly upon her. Without Shafali Verma for company this time around, the Indian vice-captain will have to shoulder even greater responsibility in the tri-series.

Standing in her way tonight, though, is a certain Shabnim Ismail. The veteran seamer will look to deal a couple of decisive blows in the powerplay for South Africa, although she has a negative matchup to overcome. While she has dismissed Mandhana twice in all T20Is, the southpaw averages 36.5 at a strike rate of 149 in this particular matchup.

With both India and South Africa looking to start the tri-series on a winning note, this could well be the battle that decides the fate of the opener.

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#2 Laura Wolvaardt vs Renuka Singh Thakur

It's not a stretch to state that Laura Wolvaardt boasts the most elegant cover drive across the men's and women's game. While she batted in the middle order during the Commonwealth Games, it remains to be seen if she will revert to her role as an opening batter in the tri-series.

Either way, her battle against Renuka Singh Thakur ought to make for fascinating viewing. The seamer was arguably the breakout performer of the year gone by for India and her ability to swing the new ball makes her a potent wicket-taking prospect.

How she manages to control her length while looking for wickets against one of the world's best batters could make for fascinating viewing in the first contest.

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#3 Marizanne Kapp vs Deepti Sharma

One of the greatest all-rounders in the women's game, Marizanne Kapp is known to come up clutch every time the chips are down. Given that South Africa have lost a fair few experienced names to retirement, she will be pivotal to their chances in the slog-overs.

Deepti Sharma enters the tri-series on the back of a stellar 2022 with both the bat and ball. She has also become a regular operator with the ball in the death overs for India and hence, will have a huge say in negating the impact of Kapp.

Funnily enough, the roles could well be reversed when Kapp runs in with the ball and Deepti bats in the death overs. The latter has shown excellent signs of her improved hitting range in white-ball cricket in recent times and this could prove to be a tantalizing battle tonight.

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Which of these player battles are you most looking forward to when India and South Africa play the tri-series opener tonight? Have your say in the comments section!

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