By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: Getty Images.
The Proteas Women find themselves staring at a virtual knockout match when they face India at Old Trafford on Sunday, with their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup hopes hanging in the balance.
After suffering a heavy 65 run defeat to defending champions Australia in their tournament opener, South Africa bounced back with a nervy two wicket victory over Pakistan. While the win kept their campaign alive, it did little to improve a net run rate that remains a major concern heading into the business end of the group stage.
With only the top two teams from a fiercely competitive Group A progressing to the semifinals, Sunday’s clash against India has become a must win encounter for Laura Wolvaardt’s side.
India have been one of the tournament’s standout teams so far, following up a convincing victory over Pakistan with a dominant win against the Netherlands. They currently sit at the top of the group alongside Australia and boast a significantly stronger net run rate than the Proteas.
A defeat for South Africa would leave them needing a series of favourable results elsewhere, while also relying heavily on net run rate calculations to stay alive.
Proteas batting coach Andrew Puttick acknowledged the importance of the fixture. “It’s a high pressure game on Sunday, it’s a must win,” said Puttick. “If we want to make our lives easier, we need to put in a good performance and hopefully that leads to a win.”
The Proteas know they are capable of beating India. Earlier this year, South Africa claimed an impressive 4–1 T20 series victory over the Indians, with captain Laura Wolvaardt leading the way with 330 runs across the five matches.
However, Wolvaardt has yet to hit top form at this World Cup and South Africa’s batting unit has struggled to build substantial partnerships. “We need those partnerships, especially in the middle overs, so we can take things into the death overs and hopefully get a good score,” Puttick added.
Even if South Africa defeat India, their qualification hopes may still depend on events next weekend. Australia face India in the final group match at Lord’s, and the Proteas will likely be cheering on the six-time champions if qualification remains tight.
Should South Africa beat India, but India in turn beat Australia, net run rate could become the deciding factor in determining who goes through to the play-offs. At this point the Proteas lag way behind.
Vice captain Chloe Tryon believes the team understands the magnitude of the challenge ahead. “Our destiny is in our hands,” she said. “We know how important this game is for us. We can’t overthink it too much. We know it’s like a quarter final.”
For South Africa, the equation is simple. Beat India and keep control of their World Cup destiny. Lose, and their hopes of reaching another global semifinal could well be over already. With Australia and India widely regarded as the favourites in the group, Sunday’s clash may well define the Proteas’ tournament.
Teams:
India (probable): 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Yastika Bhatia, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Radha Yadav, 9 Arundhati Reddy/Nandani Sharma, 10 Kranti Gaud, 11 N Shree Charani
South Africa (probable): 1 Laura Wolvaardt (capt), 2 Sune Luus, 3 Annerie Dercksen, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Nadine de Klerk, 6 Chloe Tryon, 7 Kayla Reyneke, 8 Sinalo Jafta (wk), 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Ayabonga Khaka, 11 Nonkululeko Mlaba.
Match starts at 15:30 SAST.