Women’s World Cup: Spin likely the key as India face South Africa

India faces South Africa in a crucial match in Visakhapatnam, hoping to maintain their winning streak despite key players underperforming.

Visakhapatnam: India’s caravan has moved to Visakhapatnam where they face South Africa and Australia this week. They face SA first in what promises to be a fascinating mid-tournament clash on Thursday. A gloomy sky and thunder greeted the teams in this coastal city on match eve, setting the tone for a contest where both sides are looking to sharpen their campaign.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur during training in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. (PTI)

Although rain is expected to disrupt the match on Thursday, the weather held off long enough for South Africa to train under a rumbling sky. India’s optional session saw only skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues turn up, while Amanjot Kaur, who had trained the previous day, is fit after sitting out against Pakistan due to illness. For South Africa, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus and Tazmin Brits were absent from their practice session.

India have won both their opening games without being at their best. Rodrigues took the positives. “If you look at all the matches till now, our opening partnership has been the highest,” she said. “We’ve had small contributions from the top and middle-order, but we’ve had new match-winners every game. For the opponents, it should be scary to know we haven’t had our perfect match yet, but we’re still on a winning streak.”

Though key batters Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet and Rodrigues are yet to click in the tournament, Amanjot, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh have all stepped up, ensuring India have a match-winner even if their leading players misfired.

“We’re not thinking too much about ‘Oh, we’ve not had the perfect game’,” Rodrigues said. “We believe it’s still to come. When you have that mindset, it’s motivating. It’s important not to be desperate for that perfect game… just step back, do our jobs correctly and that game will come.”

Barring Bangladesh, India have seen off the other Asian opponents, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Other batters have turned up and their new-ball pair looked threatening against Pakistan, while their spin attack has thrived on surfaces offering turn. But they will now face sterner tests with South Africa, Australia, England and New Zealand to follow.

India’s bowling plans, however, are expected to remain consistent rather than making drastic changes for these opponents. South Africa, first up, are high on confident after beating New Zealand, led by a Brits century.

Eyes on Mandhana, Wolvaardt

India will be hoping for Smriti Mandhana to turn up, after scoring 8 and 23 in the first two matches. Laura Wolvaardt, South Africa’s captain and main batter, will be under pressure after a lean start.

Given the slower surfaces and the dominance of spin so far in the tournament, how these two batting anchors adapt in what is expected to be a slightly better pitch for batters, will be crucial in the fixture.

South Africa rebuild

For South Africa, the tournament began in disastrous fashion, having been bundled out for 69 in their opener against England. But they bounced back strongly in the second game thanks to key contributions from Tazmin Brits (101) and Sune Luus (83*).

“It was a bit unexpected that first game and we got blown away,” all-rounder Nadine de Klerk admitted. “There’s been a massive hype about this World Cup and to get rolled for 70 (69 all out) is never nice. Everybody took it personally. But we moved on quickly, and had a couple of discussions around game plans. To come back in the second game [against New Zealand] was incredible.”

De Klerk said South Africa’s preparation in Pakistan earlier this year has helped them adjust to the subcontinent pitch conditions, which she said was on the slower side and taking quite a bit of turn.

“India has a quality bowling attack, especially the two new-ball bowlers. Even in spin-friendly conditions, they swing the ball early and pick up a few wickets,” she said. “We’re well prepared for whatever comes our way but we do expect it to be spin-heavy. So, that will probably be the biggest focus while still trying to get through that new ball pair. Spin is going to be key for both sides and whoever plays spin the best will come out on top.”

After a record crowd at India’s opening game in Guwahati, South Africa will also have to contend with the passionate Indian fans in Visakhapatnam. “It’s a nice thing about women’s cricket in India. It’s great to see all the support,” De Klerk said. “It’s a bit different from what we’re used to, but it’s an exciting challenge.”

As the clouds loom over the fixture, both teams know the stakes. India are looking to peak while South Africa aim to continue their resurgence. And this clash could well shape the semi-final path of both campaigns.