Proteas Women and Sekhukhune eye series victory as journey to T20 World Cup continues

Tuesday, 21 April 2026

JOHANNESBURG: The Proteas Women will look to wrap up the T20 International (T20I) series against India when the sides meet in the third T20I at the DP World Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Wednesday, with the hosts leading the five-match series 2-0.

The encounter will get underway at 18:00 SAST and will be broadcast live on SuperSport Grandstand (Ch. 201) and SABC 3.

South Africa produced back-to-back commanding performances in the opening two matches in Durban last weekend, securing a six-wicket victory in the first T20I before following it up with an eight-wicket win in the second clash at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium.

Speaking during the pre-match press conference ahead of the third match, seamer Tumi Sekhukhune reflected on the team’s progress while highlighting their focus on building momentum towards the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in June.

“It’s very important for us to have a 3-0 tomorrow because we’re preparing for the World Cup and we want to take that momentum going into the World Cup. Obviously we’re trying to do things differently and see if they could work. So those are the things that we are working towards in getting into the World Cup,”

Sekhukhune has made an impressive start to the series, claiming five wickets across the opening two matches, including figures of three for 31 in her four overs in the second T20I. The 27-year-old has taken on the responsibility of opening the bowling, a role she initially approached with caution but has since embraced.

“Stepping into this role, I was quite nervous in the beginning, but the team and the coaches believed in me and believed that I can do this.

“It was really surprising to see that I can bowl in the powerplay and I can swing the ball out as well. I’m not the quickest and our strategy was to have the keeper up and see what I can bring into the team and see whether it can work or not. I think it’s going really well now, so I’m happy with that.”

Proteas Men spinner Keshav Maharaj briefly joined the Proteas Women camp as a spin bowling consultant for the opening two matches in his hometown of Durban. Despite being a seamer, Sekhukhune spoke positively about the experience of working alongside the left-arm spinner.

“It was nice having Keshav. Giving feedback to the girls about the stadium and about tips in terms of bowling. We have a lot of left-arm bowlers in the team, so I think that was quite nice to have a player that can share with us a few tips about how to go about things, and I think it really worked well in Durban.”

Proteas Women’s T20I Squad against India:

Laura Wolvaardt (captain, Fidelity Titans), Anneke Bosch (Fidelity Titans), Tazmin Brits (DP World Lions), Nadine de Klerk (World Sports Betting Western Province), Annerie Dercksen (Garden Route Badgers), Ayanda Hlubi (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Sinalo Jafta (DP World Lions), Ayabonga Khaka (DP World Lions), Suné Luus (Fidelity Titans), *Tebogo Macheke (Fidelity Titans), Eliz-Mari Marx (Fidelity Titans), Nonkululeko Mlaba (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kayla Reyneke (World Sports Betting Western Province), Tumi Sekhukhune (DP World Lions) and Chloé Tryon (DP World Lions).

*Uncapped