NAVI MUMBAI: Australian captain Pat Cummins’ famous comment before the men’s World Cup final against hosts India in November 2023 — when he said he wanted to silence the crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad — seems to have become a template for the South Africans too. On Saturday, during the pre-final presser of the Women's 2025 ODI World Cup at the DY Patil Stadium, South African captain Laura Wolvaardt echoed Cummins' statement, saying that South Africa will look to silence the massive crowd of Indian fans in the summit clash.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!While Cummins’ team went on to do exactly that, winning the title thanks to Travis Head’s match-winning century, Wolvaardt will hope that her team too can take inspiration from the Aussies' clinical show that day.
A crowd of more than 35,000 cheered India as they pulled off an upset five-wicket win over Australia, chasing down 339 in the semifinal at the DY Patil Stadium a few days ago. The atmosphere is expected to be similar when South Africa play at this venue for the first time against the tournament hosts on Sunday — not an easy task, one would think.
“This stadium will be tomorrow sea of blue with all the Indian supporters there, 90% or maybe even more. How do you plan to silence the crowd? How do you plan to silence the crowd?” a reporter asked Wolvaardt. “Hopefully we win. I guess that will silence them,” the Proteas skipper, who slammed a scintillating 169 to lead her team to a crushing 125-run win over four-time world champions England in the semis clash at Guwahati on Wednesday, quipped.
Wolvaardt said the pressure on the home team could work in South Africa's favour. "I think with the whole crowd behind India, probably a sold-out stadium, it's going to be a very exciting opportunity. But at the same time, it puts a lot of pressure on them as well. So it sort of plays in our favour, hopefully," Wolvaardt said.
‘Not thinking about the past’India haven’t beaten South Africa in a Women's ODI World Cup since their clash in Pretoria back in 2005. Both teams are level in their head-to-head record at 3-3 in ODI World Cups, but while India won the first three meetings, the Proteas have hit back with three consecutive victories to draw level.
In the ongoing World Cup, South Africa defeated India by three wickets in a league-stage match at Vizag. Thanks to Nadine de Klerk’s 54-ball 84 not out, skipper Laura Wolvaardt's 70, and Chloe Tryon’s 49, South Africa chased down 252. However, Wolvaardt asserted that her team was not dwelling on past results and will approach the grand finale with a fresh mindset, starting from zero.
“We're trying not to think too much about the past at all. Every cricket game starts at zero. We can't sort of bring any of our history into this game. Knockout cricket is completely different from league cricket. People can do some very special things in knockout games like Jemimah (Rodrigues) the other night,” Wolvaardt said, referring to Rodrigues' magnificent match-winning knock of 127 not out against Australia in the semis.
Talking about what a maiden WODI World Cup triumph would mean for South African women's cricket, Wolvaardt said, “(A World Cup win) will be really special for the women’s game back home. We recently got domestic contracts introduced. So, I can only imagine what something like a World Cup trophy will do back home — just the number of girls that will be able to see it on TV, who will hear that we’re a World Cup-winning nation.”
South Africa began their campaign with an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat to England at Guwahati but bounced back superbly to finish third in the league stage. They then produced a clinical performance in the semifinal, thrashing Nat Sciver-Brunt’s England to secure their place in the final. Batting first, they made 319 for seven before skittling England out for 194.
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