Curtains will be raised on the eighth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup as 10 teams will compete to be crowned the champions in South Africa as the action kick starts on Friday (February 10). The opening match of the contest will see Sri Lanka take on hosts South Africa as they battle out to draw the first blood. While 2020 runners-up India will hope to get one better and win the whole thing, Australia and England will stand in their way as they try to dominate on the global stage yet again.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be captained by Chamari Athapaththu, their leading run-scorer in the format. Hasini Perera, one of Sri Lanka’s first-choice openers, won’t be a part of the World Cup due to injury.
Vishmi Gunaratne, who played for the Lankans in the U19 World Cup in South Africa, is a part of the 15-member squad. The likes of Nilakshi de Silva, Oshadi Ranasinghe, and Kavisha Dilhari are also tried-and-tested customers.
On the other hand South Africa, led by Sune Luus, will be brimming with confidence after winning their recent T20I tri-series, involving India and the West Indies. They defeated Harmanpreet Kaur’s India by five wickets in the final, riding on Chloe Tryon’s 32-ball 57, with the help of six fours and two sixes.
All-rounder Dane van Niekerk isn’t a part of the squad after she was left out due to “fitness issues.” Marizanne Kapp didn’t take part in the tri-series final after she went on compassionate leave to attend to her wife, van Niekerk, who was “broken” after missing out on a T20 World Cup berth.
Kapp is expected to play a key role for South Africa in both the batting and bowling departments. Laura Wolvaardt, Shabnim Ismail, and Ayobonga Khaka are also proven match-winners at the highest level.
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