An exciting game is in prospect as India and South Africa face off in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday (November 2). Here are five areas where the game could be decided.
The venue of the World Cup final had two contrasting energy levels on either side of the stadium perimeter. Outside, fans thronged the streets in anticipation of bagging a late ticket. Inside, the build-up was slightly more low-profile, with India doing light training as clouds circled around. In the press conference, both captains quietly made clear their aspirations of laying hands on the trophy, and the larger implications of what it would mean for each nation.
It’ll all come down to one game, and a new ODI World Cup winner is guaranteed to be crowned. Here are the key areas that could define who takes the trophy.
Marizanne Kapp vs India’s openers
After an underwhelming start, Smriti Mandhana found her gears in the campaign, hitting three 80-plus scores in a row. Her opening partner, Pratika Rawal, is still among the top-five run-getters this edition despite being ruled out before the semis, putting together two 150+ stands with Mandhana. Now, in Shafali Verma, they have a completely different batter, who can really turn a game around on its head, but has essentially played five balls heading into the final.
Their big challenge early on would be Marizanne Kapp, now the leading wicket-taker in World Cup history. Her five-for against England saw her scything through the top-order, with her first spell figures reading 4-2-8-2. On a flat Navi Mumbai track, she would be looking to capitalise on early movement and make the early dent. At the World Cup this year, she has bowled 36 powerplay overs, taking seven wickets with a dot-ball percentage of 80.1. If India are able to get through her, it could be a significant factor in the game.
South Africa v batting first
On the surface, South Africa have had a weird tournament. Twice, batting first, they have been shot out for under-100. Twice, batting first, they have put up a 300+ score, including the semi-final. The game before that they were shot out for 97. It remains to be seen which South Africa turns up if they bat first.
A common link to both those big scores has been Laura Wolvaardt’s contribution. In the semis, her record-breaking 169 literally carried South Africa to 319; as did her 82-ball 90 in the 40-over innings against Pakistan. She struck 70 in the league game against India, with her three previous scores against the team reading 135*, 61 and 43. She’s topping the run-charts with 470 runs. India would hope there’s not much added to it. And their best bet to counter her would be Renuka Singh Thakur.
Thakur’s effectiveness with the new ball has gone up and down in this edition, going wicketless for eight overs against Australia. The only time she has met Wolvaardt in ODIs was last year, when a nip-backer cleaned her up in the first over. The same happened in the powerplay during the WPL this year, and India would dream for such history to repeat itself.
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The de Klerk/Tryon threat lower down
Nadine de Klerk has steadily improved as a lower-order hitter, and has been a revelation this year, striking at 122 from a No.8 or 9. Her innings of 84* (54) in Vizag plucked a win out of India’s reach, taking them from 81-5 to chase 252. Since then, she’s excelled with her cameos. Above her, Chloe Tryon has been finishing with flourishes too: her 49 against India and 62 against Bangladesh came after top-order collapses, while she’s just as good at adding final touches to a good platform.
India weren’t able to close the league game because of their brilliance, and will be hoping they don’t combine to break hearts again. Yet, it also signifies a gap in the SA batting: Anneke Bosch and Annerie Dercksen have basically gone the entire campaign without a big score, while Sune Luus has blown hot-and-cold. SA would hope that one big knock comes in the final.
The battle of nerves
A cliched point, but both teams have suffered from a history of close finishes and heartbreaks. South Africa have seen three semi-final losses in ODI World Cups, and were T20 World Cup runners-up in the last two editions. India have finished runners-up twice in ODIs, with two semis exits in T20s since 2020. Before the game, Harmanpreet Kaur said: “We know how it feels to lose, but we are really looking forward to see how it feels after a win”.
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At this edition, India’s hat-trick of defeats against the three other semi-finalists were all close in their own way. They looked set to chase 289 against England but faltered. They had SA on the mat at 81-5 in a chase of 252, but slipped up. This now feels like a different India team, having downed Australia with a historic semis win. Yet, when it comes to the actual moment on the field, the slip-ups could easily come back to haunt them.
South Africa have so far prevailed in testing moments, but have also been an unpredictable team, and would be hoping they don’t combust like they have a couple of times this edition, or how they did in the T20 World Cup grand finale last year. India also leaked quite a few runs to misfields against Australia.
The rain and venue factor
It’s been a tournament with an annoyingly prominent presence of rain, and there’s a danger of it extending into the final too. So far, rain has made an appearance in India’s last two league games here, but the semi-final was fortunately left untouched. There’s rain forecast for Sunday, and a reserve day if it does. In such a scenario, both teams might want to chase: given their track record in the tournament (and India’s own win against Australia).
The humidity was quite high in Navi Mumbai that day, with dew also becoming a feature. Also, knowing the requirement in a rain-hit game is helpful, and even more so if it gets pushed to the reserve day and resumes from the last stopping point.
It’s interesting to note that this will be India’s fourth game in a row at this venue, while South Africa haven’t played a single game here, travelling from Indore to Guwahati to Mumbai within a week. On the other hand,India come into the game just two days after their Australia game, which would have been immensely sapping mentally and physically, while South Africa’s win over England was virtually stress-free.
From a conditions specific point of view, India would be a lot more well-versed. India would also have the backing of a large support base, with their games having brought huge crowds. At the pre-match press conference , Laura Wolvaardt said: “A lot of eyeballs on the game, a lot of added pressure and, yeah, probably pretty batting friendly. So it might be pretty high scoring, which is why I think if we're just able to stay really calm, it'll be really important.”
It could be a big test for South Africa, but equally, huge expectations from India after their iconic finish against Australia.
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