Chennai, July 6: India women, who won the ODI series and stamped their authority with a 10-wicket win in the solitary Test match, however tested defeat against visiting South Africa on Friday.
The 12-run defeat in the first T20I also put India in the back-foot in the three T20I series.
India had quite a few challenges in the first T20 International. They dropped a few easy catches. Their key performer keeper-batter Richa Ghosh had an injury. Strike rotation was another problem, especially after Dayalan Hemalatha walked into bat at No3.
Could have Jemimah Rodrigues been sent ahead of Hemalatha? That was another issue. India also leaked too many runs as the Proteas posted 189/4 in the allotted 20 overs.
Experienced Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma began well. But Shafali was not in her usual best and Hemalatha despite opening her account with a boundary, just could not rotate the strike and kept Mandhana waiting at the non-striker's end for long.
Once Mandhana got frustrated and was dismissed, Hemalatha too returned to the pavilion immediately. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah did try their best, but ultimately fell short by 12 runs from the target.
African women bowled and fielded well to frustrate the hosts and registered their maiden win in the multi-format series after losing the ODIs and the Test match.
Can Harmanpreet Kaur & Co bounce back in the second T20I? If they cannot, they would be losing the three-match T20I series.
Well, there is not much time left for India women to regroup and execute their plans, as the second T20I will be played on Sunday and the final one is scheduled for Tuesday at the same venue, here.
Injury was another common worry for both teams after Friday's match. India's Richa Ghosh and South Africa's Brits had gone off the field with concussion and cramps respectively.
Sources informed that Richa had neck pain and dizziness following a failed catch attempt, with the ball hitting her face. Her face too was hit on the ground. She was being monitored by the medical team. Will she play the second T20I on Sunday, is another point of great concern for the hosts.
Because Richa Ghosh is a vital cog in the present set-up with her keeping and match winning abilities with the willow as well.
South Africa's highest scorer on Friday night Tazmin Brits, though was carried out of the field on a stretcher, but after the match, she stated she was confident of taking the field against India on Sunday.
Squads:
South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (Captain) , Tazmin Brits, Mieke de Ridder , Sinalo Jafta (wicket-keeper) , Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba and Tumi Sekhukhune.
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain) , Smriti Mandhana , Uma Chetry , Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper) , Dayalan Hemalatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Sajeevan Sajana, Deepti Sharma, Asha Sobhana, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Shabnam Shakil, Pooja Vastrakar and Radha Yadav.
If South Africa beat India in the second T20I on Sunday, then they would clinch the three-match series. But if India win, then Tuesday's match at the same venue, here is likely to be keenly contested.
