IND vs SA, Women's 1st T20I: Deepti Shines As India Beat South Africa By 11 Runs At Surat

Star of the match was all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who bagged dream figures as she bowled three straight maiden overs (18 dot balls) and bagged three wickets

Fifteen-year-old Shafali Verma became the youngest T20I debutant for India during the first T20 against South Africa at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium. Shafali made her international debut as an opener but was bowled out for a duck. Shafali is the second-youngest player to represent India after Gargi Banerjee (14y 165d, Ind v Eng, 1978).

What a moment this is for the hard-hitting batter Shafali Verma, who makes her India debut today. She is only 15! 😊💪🏾#INDWvsSAW pic.twitter.com/nD0C6ApQld

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 24, 2019

After winning the toss, Sune Luus-led South Africa opted to bat first in the first T20I against India. Mignon du Preez emerged as the star player as she scored a valiant half-century to help her side post 119/10 after 19.5 overs. For India, Harmanpreet Kaur top-scored with 43. However, the star of the match was all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who bagged dream figures as she bowled three straight maiden overs (18 dot balls) and bagged three wickets. It seemed that SA batters had no answers to Deepti's spin bowling.

WATCH: @Deepti_Sharma06 ’s match-winning spell of 3/8

Three straight maiden overs and three wickets from the all-rounder as she spun a web around the SA batters. @Paytm #INDWvsSAW LINK🎥 - https://t.co/xZKHvuoXcf pic.twitter.com/dWZG2LYkQx — BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 24, 2019

South Africa's Shabnim Ismail and Nadine de Klerk chipped in with five wickets between them but at the end it was India that emerged victorious by beating the visitors by 11 runs, giving India a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. The South Africa women's team will play India in a five-match T20I series in Surat followed by a three-match ODI series in Vadodara. Indian Women's ODI squad: Mithali Raj (Captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Punam Raut, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Mansi Joshi, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, D Hemalatha, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Priya Punia Indian Women's squad for first 3 T20Is: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Poonam Yadav, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurthy, Harleen Deol, Anuja Patil, Shafali Verma, Mansi Joshi