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WWC 2025: India, South Africa seek momentum amid unpredictable World Cup
When close to 800 runs were scored between India and Australia 10 days before the start of the World Cup, this tournament was being billed as the biggest run-fest of them all. But since then, we have seen South Africa bowled out for 69, India suffer two collapses, the 275 mark breached just once, and even Australia collapse to 76 for 7.
The action now moves to Visakhapatnam, the fourth venue of this World Cup, where the Indian team held preparatory camps in the lead up to the tournament, and where five women’s ODIs have been played before, the last in 2014, but none involving South Africa. They arrive here after contrasting results in their first two games, but they have the personnel in terms of batters, spinners and quicks to adapt to whatever the damp conditions in Visakhapatnam throw at them.
India’s first two wins were far from their “perfect game,” as Jemimah Rodrigues put it on Wednesday, and with this fixture, they head into a 10-day period of big clashes against South Africa, Australia and England, which could well decide their fate in this home World Cup. South Africa were the ones who had knocked India out of the semi-final race in the last ODI World Cup but they have since been beaten 5-0 by India, including the three ODIs last year in India and the two in the Sri Lanka tri-series earlier this year.
With some rain around in this city too, both teams will be desperate to continue their winning ways.
Between them, Tazmin Brits and Smriti Mandhana have scored nine of the 29 centuries this year by players from teams in this World Cup. Brits’ five are the most centuries in a calendar year, with Mandhana right on her heels with four. Mandhana, meanwhile, has played five innings more than Brits’ 11 this year and has 959 runs against Brits’ 749. And if Brits recently became the fastest to seven ODI hundreds (in 41 innings), Mandhana had recently smashed the second-fastest ODI century, against world champions Australia.
Thursday will see a clash of not just two of the most prolific ODI openers but batters in recent times, who have been rewriting one record book after another. While Brits’ 101 against New Zealand got South Africa their first points, India will hope Mandhana follows on Brits’ footsteps having started the tournament with two low scores
India were without Amanjot Kaur for the Pakistan game because of a fever and she will likely be back for this game, having bowled and batted in the nets at length on Tuesday evening. How they slot her back is the question because her replacement Renuka Singh bowled tidily with the new ball and sent down a maiden to finish with 0 for 29 from her 10 overs. India will also wonder if their five-bowler strategy will be good enough against a side that scored 234 in under 41 overs a few days ago. The only way to add a sixth bowler is by dropping a batter, which isn’t straightforward at all.
India (possible): Smriti Mandhana, Prtika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Shree Charani, Kranti Goud
South Africa may not feel the need to change their winning XI from the New Zealand match in Indore although conditions in Visakhapatnam may not be as flat. But the pressure is mounting on Anneke Bosch at No. 5 who has scores of 0, 6 and 10 in her last three ODIs, and South Africa have so far kept out pace-bowling allrounder Annerie Dercksen, being seen as Marizanne Kapp’s successor.
South Africa (possible): Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luss, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch/ Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta (wkt), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
Signing agreement for the establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility in Sri Lanka
It has been decided to establish a BIMSTEC technology transfer facility in Sri Lanka by entering into a Host Country Agreement at the second leaders’ summit of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal
Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) held in New Delhi, India, in 2008, with the objective of enhancing regional cooperation.
The relevant cooperation agreement was signed by the member countries at the 5th BIMSTEC summit on 30-03-2022 in Colombo.
The prime objective of this technology transfer facility is to provide technology, capacity building, and management of intellectual property for the micro, small, and medium-scale
enterprises of the BIMSTEC member countries.
According to the cooperation agreement, an agreement should be entered into between Sri Lanka, as the host country, and BIMSTEC Secretariat for formalizing the legal status, privileges, and immunities of the technology transfer facility.
The drafted agreement has received the relevant institutional approval and legal clearance.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Science and Technology to sign the proposed agreement.
Misbah ul Haq has offered his resignation from the Pak7stan men’s national selection committee the day after the PCB made wholesalw changes to the Teat squad and team management midway through the ongoing tour of England. Misbah has also decided to step down from his role as a batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.
After going 2-0 down in the three-match series by losing at Lord’s by 194 runs, the PCB removed seven players from the Test squad and also released Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul as head coach and bowling coach ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston from September 9.
Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad were the seven players released. Five uncapped players – Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, and Razaullah – will join the Test squad along with Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal. Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke – the head coach and bowling coach of the white-ball set-up – have joined the Test coaching staff.
Cricinfo understands the PCB served a notice to members of the selection committee following the Lord’s defeat seeking a written explanation regarding the selections of Rizwan and Imam in the squads for the tours of West Indies and England.
The notice was sent on Monday, the same day the board announced its decision to send home the seven players and two coaches, ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston from September 9. The notice asked for a written explanation outlining the reasons for their selections and the process through which it was arrived at, within 24 hours of the receipt of notice. From the start of 2024 until the West Indies tour, Rizwan was Pakistan’s top Test run-scorer with the highest average. Imam had only played two Tests in that period but was a heavy domestic run-scorer.
Since retiring as Pakistan’s most successful Test captain in 2017, Misbah has served in various capacities in the PCB. He was appointed in the dual role of head coach and chief selector in 2019. He served in both roles until October 2020, when he resigned as the chief selector to focus entirely on the head coaching responsibilities, from which he ultimately resigned the next year.
Two years later, he was brought in as an advisor by the then chief of ad-hoc management committee Zaka Ashraf and had since remained involved with the PCB. He was announced as one of five mentors for the now-defunct men’s Champions Cup after the current management took over in 2024, and he also mentored women’s teams in domestic competitions. He was the coach of the Pakistan Gold side which won the 50-over National Champions Cup in Multan last month under Shaheen Afridi’s captaincy.
Misbah was made part of the four-member selection committee which includes Aaqib Javed, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Asad Shafiq in March this year and had also been on a 180-days-a-year contract with the PCB as a batting consultant.
(Cricinfo)
The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal submitted by the President to make a donation of United States Dollars One million as humanitarian and economic relief to the government of Nepal
Cabinet aporives recruitment of Nursing Instructors for Nursing Schools under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media on Contract Basis
Signing agreement for the establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility in Sri Lanka
The cabinet approves agreement on mutual legal cooperation in criminal matters between the Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Korea
Misbah-ul-Haq resigns as Pakistan selector after Test squad upheaval
Amendment of the Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance No. 3 of 1897
Cabinet approves donation of USD One Million to the Government of Nepal
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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