Two of the most important games of the
2026 T20 World Cup will be played on Sunday. In the first,
Sri Lanka will take on
West Indies in Bristol at 9.30 am GMT (10.30am local). Having pulled off two narrow wins, West Indies are unbeaten so far, and another victory will make them firm favourites for a spot in the semi-finals. But if Sri Lanka win, they will fancy their chances of making the top four, given their two remaining league matches after this are against relatively weaker teams, Ireland and Scotland.
In the afternoon, at 1.30pm GMT (2.30pm local), India and South Africa will face each other in Manchester, in what will be their first meeting in T20 World Cups. Like West Indies, India have won both their games, and if they beat South Africa, they will have one foot in the semi-finals. But given India are yet to play Australia, they can ill afford a defeat here. If South Africa win, they will be a strong contender for the knockouts, assuming they beat Netherlands and Bangladesh in their last two group games.
For India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, this will be her 200th T20I, making her the first cricketer – male or female – to reach the mark.
Given both Sri Lanka and West Indies won their previous games, they are unlikely to make any changes.
Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Vishmi Gunaratne, 2 Chamari Athapaththu (capt), 3 Harshitha Samarawickrama, 4 Hasini Perera, 5 Kavisha Dilhari, 6 Nilakshika Silva, 7 Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), 8 Sugandika Kumari, 9 Kawya Kavindi, 10 Mithali Ayodhya, 11 Nimasha Meepage
West Indies (probable): 1 Qiana Joseph, 2 Hayley Matthews (capt), Shemaine Campbelle (wk), 4 Deandra Dottin, 5 Stafanie Taylor, 6 Jahzara Claxton, 7 Chinelle Henry, 8 Jannillea Glasgow, 9 Aaliyah Alleyne, 10 Afy Fletcher, 11 Karishma Ramharack
With
Shreyanka Patil out of the tournament, India could bring in Radha Yadav, a like-for-like replacement who allows them to maintain the two-seamers-three-spinners combination without compromising on the batting depth. The other, less likely, option is to bring in a third seamer. It will also be interesting to see whether they stick with Yastika Bhatia and Nandani Sharma or bring back Arundhati Reddy and Bharti Fulmali.
India (probable): 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Yastika Bhatia, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Radha Yadav, 9 Arundhati Reddy/Nandani Sharma, 10 Kranti Gaud, 11 N Shree Charani
Annerie Dercksen had a slight hamstring tweak in the previous game. If she is not fully fit, either Tazmin Brits or Dane van Niekerk could come in.
South Africa (probable): 1 Laura Wolvaardt (capt), 2 Sune Luus, 3 Annerie Dercksen, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Nadine de Klerk, 6 Chloe Tryon, 7 Kayla Reyneke, 8 Sinalo Jafta (wk), 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Ayabonga Khaka, 11 Nonkululeko Mlaba
Sri Lanka are slowly coming out of Chamari Athapaththu‘s shadow, but they need their captain to stand tall in big games. And Bristol is the perfect venue for that – as Athapaththu posted on Instagram, it was the scene of her 178 not out against Australia in the 2017 ODI World Cup.
Stafanie Taylor has struggled with form and fitness of late but her 47 not out off 19 balls against Scotland could not have come at a better time. It effectively won West Indies the match and also bodes well for their upcoming games.
On her day, Shafali Verma can single-handedly turn a game around with the bat. But in this World Cup, her role with the ball will also be important, as India do not have a reliable sixth bowler in the absence of Amanjot Kaur. Shafali has done well until now, picking up four wickets in two games at an economy rate of 6.63.
Laura Wolvaardt has a great record against India in T20Is: 520 runs in 17 innings at an average of 40.00 and a strike rate of 142.07. With Sune Luus struggling for runs, the onus will be on the South Africa captain to give her side a good start.
Sri Lanka vs West Indies will be the first match in Bristol this World Cup. It will be cloudy in the morning, so whoever wins the toss may want to bowl first.
Manchester have hosted two matches so far; both were won by teams batting first. The India-South Africa game, though, will be played on a fresh pitch. The weather is expected to be partly cloudy with no chance of rain.
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