South Africa’s Faye Tunnicliffe gets her first opportunity of the tour in the third T20I in Lucknow
India chose to bowl v South Africa
At a venue where all five ODIs and the first two T20Is played between these two teams so far have been won by the chasing team, it was no surprise that hosts India, led by stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana, decided to field first in the third and final T20I against South Africa in Lucknow. India have already lost the series but will be in search of a consolation win against a South African side that have rung in the changes.
The visitors rested senior batter Mignon du Preez to give Faye Tunnicliffe her first opportunity of the tour and mixed up the attack. With no sign of Marizanne Kapp, who is understood to be ill, South Africa opted for right-arm seamer Tumi Sekhukhune and offspinner Nondumiso Shangase in place of pace bowler Ayabonga Khaka and left-arm spinner Nonkululekho Mlaba.
India only made one change to the XI that played on Sunday and brought in batting allrounder Ayushi Soni, who plays for Delhi on the domestic circuit and is on international debut. Soni replaced wicketkeeper Nuzhat Parween, whose place behind the stumps will be filled by 17-year-old Richa Ghosh, who was involved in a number of dropped chances and misfields in the second T20I that South Africa won in the last ball.
India: 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Jemimah Rodrigues, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Arundhati Reddy, 8 Ayushi Soni, 9 Simran Bahadur, 10 Radha Yadav, 11 Rajeshwari Gayakwad
South Africa: 1 Lizelle Lee, 2 Anneke Bosch, 3 Sune Luus (capt), 4 Laura Wolvaardt, 5 Lara Goodall, 6 Faye Tunnicliffe 7 Sinalo Jafta (wk), 8 Nadine de Klerk, 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Nondumiso Shangase 11 Tumi Sekhukhune
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent