The ODI phase of the multi-format series between the ladies of South Africa and India gets underway today at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. After winning the toss, India decided to bat first. Asha Sobhana’s ODI debut at her WPL home venue was announced by Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh, and other players are part of the home team’s full-strength XI.
Notably, this is Deepti Sharma’s 200th game for India in international competition. Now that he has participated in 109 T20Is, 87 ODIs, and 4 Tests, the 26-year-old all-round player has amassed 3319 runs and taken 234 wickets overall.
In this game, all-rounder Annerie Dercksen of South Africa also makes her debut in an ODI. The 23-year-old has only appeared for the national team in the shortest format, and her seven matches thus far have seen meagre results. Similar to India, the guests are entering the contest with all of their might. Sune Luus, Ayabhonga Khaka, and veteran Marizanne Kapp are among the players in the South African squad, which is led by Laura Wolvaardt.
Here’s Asha Sobhana receiving her cap –
𝘼 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘼𝙨𝙝𝙖 𝙎𝙤𝙗𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙖!😊
She makes her ODI debut & receives her #TeamIndia cap 🧢 from captain @ImHarmanpreet 👏
Follow The Match ▶️ https://t.co/EbYe44lnkQ#INDvSA | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/MykW40yK6V
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 16, 2024
Asha Sobhana: WPL 2024’s star
In the WPL 2024, Sobhana was a key player for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru women, where she was plying her trade. Throughout the season, the leggie took out 12 wickets at an average of 15.41 in 10 innings, with a best of 5/22. Her performance in the championship game helped to limit scoring and further damage the Delhi Capitals’ innings. In three overs, she concluded with figures of 2/14.
Also read: Harmanpreet is an advocate for multi-format cricket tournaments to implement a systematic points system.
The Kerala native was chosen for the Bangladesh tour based on her WPL performances. In the fourth Twenty20 International of the series, she made her debut for India. She played a great game, finishing with figures of 3/18 in three overs.
Here’s the playing XIs for the first ODI-
India Women XI – Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, D Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, S Asha, Renuka Singh
South Africa XI – Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Anneke Bosch, Suné Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Annerie Dercksen, Nondumiso Shangase, Sinalo Jafta, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba
India
