By Brian Thomas
Tomorrow is a day , either India shed tears of joy , like they did in the semi-finals or shed tears of sorrow , the point I am trying to make is the Passion the players and their huge fan base has for Cricket. This was evident when star of the semi-finals Jemima Rodriguez emotions she showed at the post-match ceremony. Now that tears have subsided, it’s back to business, yet again tomorrow, period.
South Africa is obviously underdogs. I guess you dont need Nazer Hussain or the likes of Ian Bisshof or a Michael Atherton to tell you that because if you can win in, India in India especially in a knock-out or a final , the team that does that should be knighted.
What are the boxes South Africa should tick.
1. Bat deep. If among the runs , don’t throw your wicket like what Australian Linchfield did , and expect the next batter to do your job.
2. Remember, the reverse sweep and lap stroke against the Indian lassies is a high-risk stroke because their bowlers are stump to stump and very accurate. Hence, take pre meditated strokes out of the equation.
3. Indian pitches are high scoring , but watch out, don’t take batting for granted like Alyssa Healy did , by trying to improvise without judging the bounce.
4 Bowling to both sides of the wickets like what Australia did will spell disaster. The strong Indian batters will make a meal out of it , period.
5 Fielding both ground and catching, must be above par, saw what Alyssa Healy and Talia Mcgrath did . They not only dropped sitters but also a place in the finals , sad.
6. Prerequisite, top order must click, Laura Wollvaardt, Tazmin Brits, Marrizane Kapp, or even Sunni Luus has to bat deep.
Finaly India will have 3 deadly spinners, and the small stature of Amanjot Kaur bowling in the middle overs, getting into a shell like what Australian batters experienced must be addressed. Remember Australia was 180 for 1 wicket in 27.2 overs , looking at a target of at least 360 , but they blew it away due to complacency..
It is a challenge to tick all these boxes. Protease must now throw the Alina King exploit out of the window, use your feet, and get to the pitch of the ball , that is, the antibiotic period.
The Indian media hype , the match build up phycology , and at the venue, their crowd support can only be silenced and dealt with by ignoring them , doing your job , because beating India as per the above boxes to tick is herculean, but its not impossible.
Indian batting cordon with the likes of Smiriti Mandana, Jemima Rodriguez, and Harmanpreet Kaur at the top are not easy to crack. They will miss Pratika Rawal for sure . The middle order with Deepthi Sharma, Richa Ghose, and little Amanjot Kaur, remember, will capitalise only if the top 4 click , hence Marrizane Kapp, and Khaka must be deciplined so that 3rd seamer Nadine de Klerk can help in controlling the run flow.
Indian batters are exceptional against spin. Ash Gardner and Alina King were made to look like long forgotten heroes , but the dropped catches too contributed to their downfall.
South Africa has a world-class left arm orthodox spinner in Nonkulja Malaba, with Chole Tyron to pair off, but against India, the strong favourites the job must be done upfront by the seamers
Win predictor India 55 % is rather high , if Protease can tick at least part of the above boxes , who knows South Africa can force India to shed tears of sorrow.
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