The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 finalists are ready for their next meeting, as South Africa Women are set to host India Women for a five-match Women's T20I series before the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026. 

India Women will play five-match WT20I series against the hosts South Africa Women

In April 2026, India Women will tour South Africa for the five-match Women's T20I series. Durban will host the first two fixtures on April 17 and 19, Johannesburg will host the next two games on April 22 and 25, and Benoni will host the last one on April 27.

It will be the second Women's T20I series that South Africa will host against India Women. India Women previously played a five-match WT20I series against the hosts South Africa Women in February 2018, which India Women won by 3-1.

While India Women will face the hosts England Women in a T20I series before the beginning of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026, the South Africa series will be played before the English tour. So, before the upcoming T20 World Cup, the Women in Blue will have enough match practice with the crucial tours in Australia, South Africa, and England.

Meanwhile, before hosting India Women, South Africa Women will host Pakistan in the WODI and WT20I series before traveling to New Zealand for a T20I series. 

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India Women and South Africa Women are in same group in ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026

England and Wales will host the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 between June 12 and July 5, 2026, where 12 teams will compete for the title. India Women are in Group A along with six-time champions Australia Women, Pakistan Women, last two-time runners-up South Africa Women, and two qualified teams. Only two teams will advance to the Semi-finals of the tournament. So, it will be a very tough job for every team to secure the Semi-final spot. 

The 28-year-old Indian spinner Deepti Sharma created history during the third Women's T20I of the five-match home series against Sri Lanka Women, as she became the first Indian and second overall bowler to record 150 Women's T20I wickets, and then also recorded the joint most wickets by any bowler in the history of Women's T20I.

Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram is hosting the third game of the series, where India Women are leading by 2-0 before this fixture on Friday night (December 26). After the Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss, she chose to field first. As the Indian bowlers were in complete control, Sri Lanka Women were restricted to only 112/7 in 20 overs.

While the Indian pacer Renuka Singh had the bowling figures of 4-1-21-4, Deepti Sharma, the experienced off-spinner, completed the innings with the bowling figures of 4-0-18-3.

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Deepti Sharma completed 150 WT20I wickets

The no.1 Women's T20I bowler Deepti Sharma returned to the game, while she missed out on the previous game due to illness. While she started to bowl in the powerplay, she got her first wicket of the match by dismissing Sri Lankan captain and dangerous opener Chamari Athapaththu for only three runs.

In her last two overs in two different spells, Deepti dismissed Kavisha Dilhari (20) and Malsha Shehani (5), respectively. 

By dismissing Kavisha in the 14th over, Deepti completed her 150 wickets in Women's T20I career, as she became the first Indian and second overall bowler to record 150 WT20I wickets. Later, by dismissing Malsha, Deepti equalled the record for most wickets in Women's T20I history, as it was her 151st WT20I wicket. 

Bowlers with most Women's T20I wickets

• Megan Schutt (Australia Women): 151 wickets
• Deepti Sharma (India Women): 151 wickets
• Henriette Ishimwe (Rwanda Women): 144 wickets
• Nida Dar (Pakistan Women): 144 wickets
• Sophie Ecclestone (England Women): 142 wickets

Deepti Sharma became first bowler to record 150 wickets in WODIs and WT20Is

Deepti Sharma is also the first bowler to record 150 wickets in both Women's ODIs and Women's T20Is. In her WODI career, Deepti has taken 162 wickets. Meanwhile, the other 150+ WT20I wicket-taker, Australian Megan Schutt has picked up 145 wickets in her WODI career.

Achieving a milestone is a very great feeling for any cricketer, and it becomes more memorable if it happens in an international cricket career. But if a cricketer achieves something that has hardly done by anyone before, it becomes very special. 

Here, we are talking about the players with 4000 runs in Women's T20I history, where we can see only two names. 

Batters with 4000 runs in Women's T20I history

(as of December 21, 2025)

Suzie Bates

New Zealand Women's legend Suzie Bates was the first cricketer to record 4000 runs in Women's T20I history. She is well ahead in the list of most runs in Women's T20I history, as she has scored 4716 runs in her WT20I career with an average of 29.11, including one century and 28 half-centuries.

Bates completed her 4000 runs in Women's T20I career in October 2023 and became the first to achieve this milestone. As the White Ferns legend is still active, she is likely to become the first cricketer to record 5000 runs in Women's T20I history. 

In Men's T20I cricket, we are still waiting for the first batter to complete 4500 runs.  

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Smriti Mandhana

Indian opening batter Smriti Mandhana has created numerous records with her bat, and now she has become the second batter to record 4000 runs in Women's T20I history. During the first game of the five-match home series against Sri Lanka Women on December 21, 2025, Smriti achieved the milestone. The left-handed batter holds the record for the most 50+ scores in Women's T20I history, as she has recorded 31 half-centuries and one century in this format.