India will face South Africa in the final of the Women’s ODI World Cup. To win their first title, India will have to overcome 5 challenges, which include Marijanne Kapp’s bowling, Laura Wolvaardt’s batting and Nadine de Klerk’s explosive game.
The countdown for the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup final match has now started. The teams of India and South Africa will face each other for the title at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, 02 November. India has reached the final for the third time, while South Africa has reached the final for the first time. If India has to win its first World Cup this time, it will have to overcome these five challenges of South Africa.
5 challenges before India in ICC Women World Cup Final Match
1.Marianne Capp vs Smriti Mandhana: Marizanne Cap is the leading wicket taker in the history of Women’s ODI World Cup. At the same time, Smriti Mandhana is currently the world number 1 ODI batsman and the second highest run scorer in this World Cup. Both of them handle the responsibility in the important phase of powerplay for both the teams. Cap, who was struggling with form in the World Cup, regained his momentum by taking five wickets against England in the semi-finals. Although he is a medium pacer, his ability to swing the ball both ways makes Cap unpredictable and dangerous.
On the other hand, Smriti, who had adopted a new style of aggressive cricket, was also not able to play to her potential at the beginning of the World Cup. But, in the second phase, he returned to form by scoring two consecutive half-centuries and one century. Recently we have seen Smriti attacking the new ball bowlers. But, his record against the cap is not good. Smriti has always faced Cap with caution. Smriti has scored only 72 runs while facing 116 balls of the cap, and her strike rate has been 62. He has given his wicket to Cap only once.
2. How India’s new ball bowlers fare against the top order led by South African captain Laura Wolvaardt. When both the teams met in Visakhapatnam in the league stage of the World Cup, India had sent the top order of Proteas to the pavilion within 20 overs. But, Navi Mumbai is not Visakhapatnam. Mumbai’s wicket is heaven for batsmen. Laura, who became the backbone of the batting with 470 runs, is leading from the front, but her partner Tazmin Britts has not been able to perform consistently in the World Cup. Despite scoring five centuries this year, she has not been able to repeat that form in the World Cup.
After Laura, only Cap is performing marginally well in the top order. South Africa could not even score 100 runs against the quality bowlers of England and Australia. But, such collapse cannot be expected in Navi Mumbai. However, it is certain that with the addition of Renuka Singh Thakur to India’s fast bowling, the questions for the Proteas will become even more acute.
3. India had bowled out South Africa for 142-6, defending 252 runs in the league stage. But, South Africa won on the basis of Nadine de Klerk’s single innings. That too with four overs remaining. Nadine had troubled India a lot by scoring 84 runs in just 54 balls.
Especially when it comes to Navi Mumbai’s batting wicket, it is certain that Nadine will prove to be even more dangerous. Nadine is batting at a strike rate of 136 in the World Cup. Nadine is also the player with the highest strike rate in this World Cup. It will be interesting to see if the Indian team includes left-arm spinners to put pressure on the right-handed batsman. If Sricharani cements her place in the team, then Radha Yadav has another chance. Or it remains to be seen whether Sneh Rana gets a place in Harman’s final team.
4. The next challenge is how India’s middle order, led by Jemimah and Harman, handles the middle overs. In the league stage, no middle order batsman from India could score more than 15 runs. In the important match against Australia, Jemima and Harman batted without giving any chance to the opponents. The main reason behind this is the variety of shots available with both of them. New generation player Jemima plays scoop shots and cut shots. At the same time, Harman has the ability to score runs in any part of the field. Nadine, Mlaba and Tryon will be Laura’s weapons in the middle overs.
5. Finally, the contest between Deepti Sharma and South Africa’s right-handed batsmen. Deepti, the most experienced bowler of the Indian team, has taken 17 wickets so far in this World Cup and she is at the top among the highest wicket takers along with Annabel Sutherland. But, against South Africa he took only one wicket for 54 runs. He gave away 73 runs in the semi-final against Australia. He has taken only four wickets in the last three matches. Deepti will have to come back with her full potential in the finals.