India vs SA: Bengaluru and Chennai to host women’s all-format series

NewsThe ODIs will be played in Bengaluru first, followed by the Test and T20Is in Chennai

India won both their home Tests – vs Australia and England – late last year  •  Getty Images

South Africa’s all-format women’s tour of India will begin with a three-match ODI series, then move to the one-off Test, and end with the three T20Is. The ODIs, as well as a one-day warm-up game for the visiting side against a Board President’s XI side, will be played in Bengaluru, while the rest of the games will take place in Chennai.

As reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier, the sequence – the T20Is being played at the end – is with a view to ensure continuity in formats ahead of the T20 World Cup, to be held in Bangladesh in September-October.

After the warm-up game on June 13, the ODIs will be played on June 16, 19 and 23; the Test will run from June 28 to July 1; the T20Is will be played on July 5, 7 and 9.

The one-off Test wasn’t part of the ICC’s FTP originally. It was added since BCCI and CSA have both been trying to promote women’s Tests of late. This will be India’s third Test in seven months, having played against England and Australia in December last year, both at home.

South Africa, meanwhile, ended their eight-year hiatus from the format in England in June 2022 and subsequently played Australia in February in Perth.

More recently, the BCCI also reintroduced a red-ball tournament in the women’s domestic calendar, hosting an inter-zonal competition – of five matches in total. The last time the BCCI had a red-ball tournament for its women cricketers was back in 2018.