Having dealt with two Asian neighbours convincingly, the real test for the Indian women comes when they face non-Asian teams in their next four games at this ICC Women’s World Cup, beginning with the clash against a resurgent here on Thursday.
Having outplayed Sri Lanka and Pakistan, India will be eager to continue their winning run and stay among the top two in the points table, as their first objective will be to make the semi-finals.
Hosts seek consistency
“We are not looking that far; we are taking one game at a time. Our immediate focus is on the South African team. We have to remain consistent and stick to our plans and get into top gear as we go deeper into the tournament,” said at the pre-match media interaction.
Jemimah Rodrigues bats in the nets at Vizag. Pic/PTI
Of course, India cannot take South Africa lightly, especially after how the Proteas overwhelmed New Zealand in Indore on Monday. SA were outplayed by defending champions Australia in their opening game in Guwahati, but made a strong comeback in Indore with their top-order coming into its own. Their bowling was effective too. Thus, India have their task cut out and cannot be lackadaisical like they were against Pakistan in Colombo. Though they won that match easily, their fielding was below-par, with wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh spilling as many as four catches. Besides, her judgment when seeking the DRS left much to be desired as India lost both reviews by a long way very early in the game.
It will be interesting to see the combination India will deploy in the match here, especially with a rain threat looming in the afternoon.
An indisposed Amanjot Kaur was replaced with pace bowler Renuka Singh Thakur in Colombo. In the absence of Amanjot, who had done very well in the opening game, the Indian think-tank had rejigged the batting order and brought Ghosh down the order to No. 7, which proved beneficial against as she added crucial runs at the fag end to help India post a challenging total. India may consider bringing back Amanjot if she is fit again. “We will have to wait and see if Amanjot is fit and if she fits into the scheme of things. Our plan is to have batting as deep as No. 7 and that’s what the team management will look to do,” Rodrigues said when asked about the all-rounder.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt. Pic/AFP
All eyes, however, will be on opener , who has yet to produce a big one. In fact, in the two games, only Deepti Sharma has managed a half-century, a 53 against Sri Lanka. It’s time for the batter to fire big-time. Rodrigues said that the team is not worried by the lack of big scores by the top order. “In the two games, the lower order has contributed well with the bat. It’s just a matter of time, we will have that perfect game going ahead.”
SA rely on star batter Brits
As for South Africa, Tazmin Brits struck a century against the White Ferns and she is their batting mainstay along with skipper Laura Wolvaardt. The duo will have to bat out of their skin if they hope to put the hosts under pressure of a huge total. The stage is thus set for a keen contest, with the home team looking firm favourties, especially after the way they have played in their first two games, while South Africa seem eager to surprise the hosts.
33
No. of ODIs India and South Africa have played against each other. India have won 20, Proteas 12, while one match was washed out