India Women Vs South Africa Women 2021: Smriti Mandhana Doubtful For The 2nd T20I Due To Injury

In what could be a body blow to Team India’s fortunes of making a comeback in the T20I series against South Africa Women, stylish opener and stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana could miss out on the second T20I due to an injury she suffered while fielding during the first match on Saturday.

Mandhana fell down with twisted legs while backing up for a throw from Shafali Verma after Proteas captain Sune Luus scampered for a single during the 6th over.

Smriti limped off the field and while she returned later, it was clearly evident that she was in a lot of pain. She, however, stated in the post-match presentation that she is feeling a bit better but her availability will depend on how injury holds up on match-day.

“I have to see how it goes overnight, at the moment it looks better though. Let’s see what is the status (on Sunday),” said Smriti Mandhana during the post-match presentation.

Smriti Mandhana led the side in the absence of regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur who was ruled out due to a hip injury.

It didn’t prove to be a memorable outing though as Team India was thumped by eight wickets as South Africa chased down 133 in 19.1 overs.

Mandhana lamented on her teams’ shoddy fielding, stating that it needs to get better in the upcoming fixtures.

“We fought really well. Fielding needs to get better. At the end of the 18th over, I realised we were about ten runs short,” said Mandhana could score only 11 runs. “I really like to mention Simran, the way she bowled was outstanding. The way all the youngsters came in was good, we have 24 hours for the next match, so need to buckle up and come back stronger,” she said.

The second T20I will take place in Lucknow on Sunday.

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