Outplayed in the One-Day International series, Indian women will have to lift their game in all departments to redeem themselves in the three-match T20 series against South Africa, that begins here on Saturday.

Apart from the nine-wicket win in the second match, Mithali Raj’s side failed to fire as a unit against South Africa, who looked in good rhythm throughout the series.

In the words of skipper Mithali Raj, India looked underprepared in its first series in 12 months. While it posted competitive scores in the third and fourth ODIs, the host struggled to below-par totals in the first and fifth games. With Jemimah Rodrigues short of runs, India missed the flair of young Shafali Verma. However, the 17-year-old, who had an amazing T20 World Cup last year, will be back at the top of the order.

Star opener Smriti Mandhana had just one good innings to show in the five-ODI series and will need to step up. With Harmanpreet Kaur ruled out of the first game, Smriti will have to step up as a captain.

In the one-dayers, the host's bowling was too dependent on veteran Jhulan Goswami as the spinners, save Rajeshwari Gayakwad (eight wickets), failed to make a mark.

Senior leg-spinner Poonam Yadav and spin all-rounder Deepti Sharma were dropped from the fifth ODI after their lacklustre show and the duo will look to bounce back in the shortest format. In the pace department, the onus will be on Arundhati Reddy and Mansi Joshi and eyes will also be on rookies Monica Patel and Simran Dil Bahadur.

A well-oiled machine

South Africa, on the other hand, has looked like a well-oiled machine as both its batters and bowlers have excelled in the tour.

Opening batter Lizelle Lee, who topped the runscorers list with 288 runs in four matches with totals of 83 not out, 4, 132 not out and 69, will once again look to dominate the proceedings. She was ably supported by Mignon du Preez (166 runs) and Laura Wolvaardt (154 runs) and it will be a real test for the Indian bowling attack to tame them.

Pacers Shabnim Ismail (seven wickets) and Tumi Sekhukhune (5 wickets) have been South Africa’s most successful bowlers, while medium pacers Marizanne Kapp (3) and Nadine de Klerk (3) too have chipped in with useful spells.