South Africa women are set to host India in the five-match T20I series starting on Friday, April 17. Both teams will target a winning start to the bilateral series at Kingsmead in Durban, as they kick off early preparations for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.

Indian women’s team enter this fixture after a 2-1 T20I series win against No. 1 Australia in February. India have won their last four bilateral T20I series and are full of confidence after winning their maiden ODI World Cup 2025 in November last year.

There are no major changes to the Indian side, but fans can witness maiden T20I caps for Anushka Sharma and Kashvee Gautam today. Pacers Renuka Singh and Kranti Gaud have struggled for consistency recently and will look to cement their places in the playing elevens with a positive performance against South Africa.

On the other hand, the Proteas women’s team lost their last T20I series against New Zealand 4-1. The batting performance was below par, with Tazmin Brits struggling to score big consistently. The hosts will look to produce their best game as they seek revenge for their ODI World Cup 2025 final loss against India in this series.

IND-W vs SA-W Head-to-Head Record in T20Is

The Indian women’s cricket team dominates the head-to-head record against South Africa women with 10 wins in 19 T20I meetings. South Africa have won six T20Is against India and three games produced no results.

• Matches Played: 19
• IND-W Won: 10
• SA-W Won: 6
• NR: 3

IND-W vs SA-W Predicted Playing XIs

India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Kashvee Gautam, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Kranti Goud

South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Annerie Dercksen, Nadine de Klerk, Chloe Tryon, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkulueko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune

IND-W vs SA-W Key Players

Deepti Sharma: The top-ranked Indian bowler has a stunning record against South Africa women. She has taken 16 wickets in 13 T20I innings against the Proteas at an economy rate of 6.64. Another wicket in this game will make her the most successful bowler in this contest.

Smriti Mandhana: The star opener holds the record for most runs against South Africa by any Indian player. Mandhana has scored 406 runs in 17 T20Is against South Africa women so far, at a strike rate of 121.55.

IND-W vs SA-W 1st T20I Match Prediction

The Women in Blue arrive in Durban after a brilliant 2-1 T20I series win in Australia in February. They lost the ODIs and Test against Australia later in the series, but their performance in the shortest format was a statement. Indian women have never lost a bilateral T20I series in South Africa and possess no injury issues going into the series.

The South African team, on the other hand, recorded their lowest-ever T20I total of 84 when they last faced India in April 2024. The hosts lost 1-4 to New Zealand in the five-match T20I series in March and are facing the mighty Indian side without the experienced all-rounders Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk.

Winner: India Women to win the first T20I match.