When the two teams square off in the ODI World Cup final on Sunday in front of an anticipated sold-out home crowd in Navi Mumbai, South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt has stated that the burden of expectation will be squarely on India. She gives her teammates the straightforward advice to “slow down, take a deep breath, and stay calm” before this “tough” game.
“I think [with] the whole crowd behind India, probably a sold-out stadium, it’s going to be a very exciting opportunity,” Wolvaardt stated during the news conference held prior to the game. However, I believe it also places a great deal of strain on them. They sort of anticipate to win because the entire nation is rooting for them. I believe that works to our advantage, hopefully. They are an excellent side. To defeat them, we will need to play some excellent cricket.
“South Africa’s head coach, Mandala Mashimbyi, typically makes the inspiring speeches, the ‘you’re carrying your country’ kind of thing. At the end, I believe I would simply say, “Remain composed, ladies.” In comparison to a typical game, there will be a lot of noise, a lot of activity, and possibly a lot of varied routines. Ultimately, though, we will need to maintain our composure and perform the fundamentals for a longer period of time during the game. I believe that tomorrow will be much better if you just wait and remain composed.
South Africa has advanced to the top match in both of the previous T20 World Cups, despite the fact that this would be their first-ever ODI World Cup final. The squad has learned from previous experiences, according to Wolvaardt, even though they haven’t been able to bring home the trophy yet.
“I think for me, personally, I’m really trying not to think about the result,” she stated. “I believe you instantly think of the trophy and winning during those finals, or the first time I was in the final, and you start to feel excited. Right now, my main goal is to remain [in the] here and now. We still have a very important match against a very good team.
“I’m attempting to slow things down and not look too far ahead. It seems like a pretty large, hectic event the first time you’re in the finals, in my opinion. We must take a deep breath, slow down, and hope that we can accomplish this as a team.
It hasn’t been easy for South Africa to get to the final. They recovered after losing to England at 69 all out with five consecutive victories until losing to Australia at 97 all out. They secured their place in the final with a spectacular comeback against England in the semi-final, where Wolvaardt scored 169 and Marizanne Kapp grabbed a five-for.
“We don’t simply lose or develop skills overnight, in my opinion. We definitely just had to move on from a few games, and we recovered quite effectively from those two games both times,” Wolvaardt stated. “I believe it wouldn’t have been a successful campaign for us if we focused too much on that. Therefore, I believe we learned from it, moved on, and concentrated entirely on the next game in which we needed to do well.
According to Wolvaardt, a World Cup victory would revolutionize women’s cricket in South Africa.
“I believe it would be truly unique for women’s cricket in the nation, in our opinion. “I can only imagine the impact a World Cup trophy would have back home, and the sheer number of girls who would be able to watch it on TV and hear that our country won the World Cup,” she remarked. “Hopefully, it’s really motivating.
Because of this competition, I believe we’ve already made a lot of noise at home and received a lot of messages from various individuals who have kind of taken an interest in women’s cricket. That’s extremely awesome, then.
India
