Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], October 9 (ANI): South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk said that the team has moved on from their horror start to the ICC Women’s World Cup, a 69-run all-out against England, quickly and are now ready for all their games after an “eye opener”, while Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues expressed how scary it is for opponents that they have not had a “perfect match” till yet despite being undefeated.
It is going to be an epic clash on Thursday between an undefeated India, having secured wins over neighbours Sri Lanka and arch-rivals Pakistan and South Africa, who look seriously motivated and fired-up following a win over New Zealand by six wickets during which opener Tazmin Brits contributed a record-breaking ton. SA collapsed to 69 in their campaign opener against England, but have moved on rather quickly, and the focus shifts to the next matches and “controlling the controllables”.
Klerk spoke to the media ahead of the Proteas’ matchup with India, adding to the adjectives to describe their batting capitulation against the English.
“We just had a horrible day, and there was no one who put their hands up and kind of just got stuck in the middle,” she said as quoted by ICC.
“There has been a massive hype about this World Cup, and you rock up and you get rolled for 70, which is never nice. And I think everybody took it quite personally. But we know that happens in cricket sometimes, so I think we moved on pretty quickly,” she added.
Given their response against New Zealand, there is reason to believe South Africa indeed “moved on” and can be a key player at the Cricket World Cup 2025, showing they are capable of overcoming pressure and adversity.
“We know coming to a World Cup, there’s going to be a lot of ups and downs, and I think obviously did not get off to our ideal start against England,” de Klerk continued.
“I think this World Cup is all about fight and character at the end of the day, and I think we have shown that in the last game. We have really enjoyed our tournament this far. Obviously, we had a great game the other day against New Zealand, and I think there’s a good vibe around our side. So, it is just about finding a way, and I think that coming back after that, the second game has been incredible.”
“You have to be at your very best from the first game, and we were not against England, and we got put under pressure, so I think it was just an eye opener, and we have to be ready for every single game we play,” she continued.
South Africa’s World Cup draw has been a baptism of fire, having to play England, New Zealand and now India. And on top of their ‘ups and downs’ so far, they have had to endure their fair share of travel; Guwahati, then Indore and now Visakhapatnam for their first three games.
But their journey so far has helped them focus on continuing to adapt to the subcontinental conditions and make note of the trends that have emerged as the tournament continues to unfold.
“We have had a lot of travel and stuff going up and down, but I think as a team, we just trying to control the controllables,” she continued.
“We had a couple of discussions just around game plans and how we are going to go about it … spinners are going to dominate. It is going to be really important this World Cup (and the pitches are) a bit on the slower side and taking quite a bit of turn.”
“I think this World Cup it might look a bit different, to be honest. It looks like they are not the easiest of wickets to bat on. It is still about finishing games off, but it might not be the same in terms of trying to strike at a high strike rate and putting teams under pressure. The tail-enders or the back-end batters have been in quite early, so it is just about adapting to the conditions and building a partnership with whoever’s in there and trying to take games deep.”
“It has not necessarily been 300 plus scores, so I guess it is about just scrapping all the runs you can try and get to a competitive total and then, yeah, obviously back our bowlers to defend that,” she added.
India are unbeaten in two games so far, but believe their best cricket is in front of them.
“It is scary for the opponents to know that we have not had our perfect match yet,” batter Jemimah Rodrigues told media.
“But we are still on the winning streak. We are still waiting for the perfect match to come along. And I think such tournaments because it is so long, it is important to peak at the right time. But like I said, we have so much more confidence knowing that till the end we have batters and everyone’s a match-winner.”
“It is just another game of cricket. As a batter, it is simple. I have to react and play according to the merit of the ball. As a bowler, it is simple. I need to bowl to my plans. What is in our control is how we prepare well with our plans and how we come out and execute that well,” she concluded.
India Squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kranti Gaud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Sneh Rana
South Africa Squad: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Chloe Tryon. (ANI)
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