Scotland vs South Africa
Dubai, 2pm local time
Scotland squad: Kathryn Bryce (capt), Chloe Abel, Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Olivia Bell, Sarah Bryce (wk), Darcey Carter, Priyanaz Chatterji, Katherine Fraser, Saskia Horley, Lorna Jack, Ailsa Lister, Abtaha Maqsood, Megan McColl, Hannah Rainey, Rachel Slater
South Africa squad: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe Tryon
Tournament form guide: Scotland’s maiden T20 World Cup appearance hasn’t gone to plan so far with two back-to-back losses. They started their tournament with a 16-run defeat against Bangladesh, before going down heavily to West Indies by six wickets and fifty balls to spare. South Africa are also coming into this game on the back of a seven-wicket loss against England which saw them slip to third on the points table. Their ten-wicket win against West Indies, though, has kept their net run rate (NRR) relatively healthy.
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News brief: There are no major injury concerns in either camp, though it remains to be seen how South Africa manage the players’ workload considering a less-than-48 hours turnaround time after their game against England was a day-night affair in Sharjah on Monday. Scotland are bottom placed on the group B points table, and with an NRR of -1.897, a loss against South Africa will most certainly end their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals. South Africa, on the other hand, can leapfrog England and secure top spot with a big win in Dubai. This is the first time South Africa and Scotland will face-off in any format in women’s cricket. Heat is once again going to be a factor in the day game in Dubai, with temperatures likely to touch 38 degrees Celsius.
Player to watch: Nonkululeko Mlaba is currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with five wickets and could once again be South Africa’s trump card, especially in the day game where the ball is expected to turn more. Mlaba picked a four-wicket haul the last time she played in Dubai – against West Indies, earlier in this World Cup – and will want a repeat of that performance.
India vs Sri Lanka
Dubai, 6pm local time
India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, D Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, S Sajana
Sri Lanka squad: Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilshari, Nilakshika Silva, Hasini Perera, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Sachini Nisansala, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana, Sugandika Kumari
Tournament form guide: India suffered a big 58-run loss against New Zealand in their opening game, but managed to get past Pakistan in Dubai by six wickets on Sunday. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are currently bottom of the group A points table, and are yet to win a game. They lost their opening game against lower-ranked Pakistan by 31 runs, and then went down to Australia by six wickets on Saturday.
News brief: India are sweating on the fitness of captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who sprained her neck in the last over of India’s chase against Pakistan. She retired hurt holding the back of her neck, and was later seen applying an ice pack when the teams were making their way to the team bus after the game. Pooja Vastrakar also missed the previous game due to a niggle, with S Sajana replacing her, and it remains to be seen whether Vastrakar makes a comeback for the Sri Lanka fixture.
India hold the advantage by a 19-5 margin in T20Is against Sri Lanka. But one of those five defeats was as recent as this July at the Asia Cup final. India will be keen on exacting revenge. They need a big win to bolster their NRR, something that they did not manage in their victory against Pakistan despite restricting them to 105. A defeat for Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will make their chances of moving to the next round almost nil. Dew has not had much of an effect in the games in Dubai so far, with the sticky nature of the surface and long boundaries also not making run-scoring easy.
Player to watch: Smriti Mandhana does not have the greatest of records in T20Is against Sri Lanka: 379 runs in 19 innings at 22.29 with two fifties. But in a crunch game, India will bank on their experienced batter to give them a grand start, something that has not happened so far in the tournament. If Harmanpreet does not get fit in time, there is a chance Mandhana could lead the side, and she will want to stamp her authority, especially after two failures.
