Dane van Niekerk believes the Proteas Women have the momentum to level the T20 series against India at Newlands on Saturday.

They have bounced back from 2-0 down in the five-match campaign with a five-wicket win in the third match, but were left frustratingly high and dry when rain washed out the fourth, when on 130-3 with 27 balls to go. They are looking to redeem themselves after losing the ODI series 2-1.

‘We have had some disappointments, and we had to have a long, tough talk among ourselves after losing the first two ODIs,’ said the captain. ‘But we bounced back from that well enough, and now we feel we have gelled and we have the momentum in the T20s.

‘The rain was disappointing and there’s nothing we can do about that. But we have confidence in ourselves now. I think we took a bit of time to settle down because we hadn’t been together as a team for seven months [since their excellent showing in the Women’s World Cup]. We must win this match to level the series and take some positives out of it.

‘We’re going to go out there and play the positive cricket that we know we can play and that we’ve been showcasing, and hopefully we can put on a show.’

The Proteas have also introduced new faces to the team, knowing they have  just eight months to settle on their side for the Women’s World T20 in the West Indies.

This match is the curtain-raiser to the Proteas Men’s final T20 against India. The women’s match begins at 13:00, the men’s at 18:00.

Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images