South Africa Women vs Sri Lanka Women, ICCW T20 WC 2023, Today Match Prediction

rsaw vs slw Match Prediction & Analysis

The 7th edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup is all set to begin in Newlands on February 10. South Africa Women will lock horns with Sri Lanka Women in the first match of the tournament. Being the hosts, South Africa Women will have the edge, as they will be familiar with the conditions. However, you can never discount any team in this format. 

 

TEAMS PREVIEW

South Africa Women Preview

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

Tazmin Brits (182 runs in the last 7 matches at an average of 45.50 and a strike rate of 98.91) and 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 South Africa. The two openers will be pivotal for the team’s chances in the tournament. 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.

South Africa have plenty of bowlers for these conditions.The experienced Shabnim Ismail will be taking the new ball. The right-arm seam bowler has 115 wickets in 106 T20I innings at an average of 18.80 and an economy of 5.75. 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.

 

South Africa Women Predicted Playing XI:

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

South Africa Women Actual Playing XI:

Laura Wolvaardt, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Shabnim Ismail, Anneke Bosch, Chloe Tryon, Tazmin Brits, Ayabonga Khaka, Nadine de Klerk, Marizanne Kapp, Sinalo Jafta

Sri Lanka Women Preview

Sri Lanka Women haven’t played a T20I since October 2022. They made the finals of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup, where they were beaten comprehensively by India by 8 wickets.

Starting off against South Africa will be a big challenge for them. They will be hoping their batting unit delivers. Harshitha Madavi is their in-form batter and was their leading run-getter in last year’s Asia Cup, collecting 202 runs in 8 innings at a strike rate of 92.33. Harshitha Samarawickrama (208 runs in the last 10 matches at an average of 20.80 and a strike rate of 90.43) and 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.

Captain Chamari Athapaththu’s experience will be crucial. She 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 Inoka Ranaweera. The slow left-arm spinner was the joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2022 Women’s T20 Asia Cup, taking 13 wickets in 8 innings at an economy of 4.65. Off-spinner Kavisha Dilhari (8 wickets in the last 9 matches at an economy of 6.04) will also be handy on these surfaces.  The team, however, does lack an experienced seamer for these conditions.

 

Sri Lanka Women Predicted Playing XI:

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

Sri Lanka Women Actual Playing XI:

Kavisha Dilhari, Chamari Atapattu, Harshitha Madavi, Vishmi Gunaratne, Nilakshi de Silva, Achini Kulasuriya, Ama Kanchana, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Inoka Ranaweera, Anushka Sanjeewani, Sugandika Kumari

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town is known to be bowler-friendly. There’s considerable bounce and movement on offer here for the seam bowlers. It’s also one of the few grounds in South Africa that assists spin bowlers. However, batters will have their chance of making runs once they get used to the pace of the wicket.

The weather in Cape Town during the game will be warm but pleasant.

Venue Details

The average score batting first at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town in women’s T20Is is 129. Only 5 women’s T20Is have been played at the venue so far. The highest total posted here is 166-4 by India Women against South Africa Women in 2018. The team batting first in this match should look to set a target of around 165 runs.

Toss: To Bat

This is the first match of the tournament and it’s very likely that the team winning the toss will look to put a big total on the board after batting first.