WATCH: Proteas want to be positive in ’the business end’ of the Women’s World Cup

Proteas vice-captain Chloe Tryon. Picture: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix

Proteas vice-captain Chloe Tryon. Picture: Christiaan Kotze/BackpagePix

Published Mar 26, 2022

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Cape Town - South Africa and India meet in the final match of the group phase of the ICC Women's World Cup in Christchurch on Sunday.

It is the culmination of string of intoxicatingly exciting matches throughout where there has rarely been any one-sided affairs bar when the juggernaut Australian side have been involved - and even they buckled before eventually seeing off spirited debutants Bangladesh on Friday.

And despite South Africa having already qualified for the semi-finals ahead of this much-anticipated encounter, there remains fervent interest in the match-up with India needing to beat the Proteas to secure their progression to the knockout stages.

Anything less would be treated as a national disaster back home, especially with Mihali Raj's side having been runners-up at both the last World Cup in 2017 and the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020.

It is for this reason that the Proteas are fully aware of the challenge that awaits them at the Hagley Oval.

"I'm just thankful that despite the weather, we still got the point (in the last game against the West Indies that secured qualification). It kind of just makes it a little bit easier (for South Africa) going to the India game," Proteas vice-captain Chloe Tryon said.

"But look we know we’re playing a team like India, they are all world class players. If you look up front, you got Smriti and then you try and get her wicket and then you've got Mithali and Harman still around the corner. It's going to be really important that going into the India game, we still put the foot on the accelerator. Make sure we get the momentum going to semi-final."

Much of South Africa's focus will be on trying to raise the level of their own performance and although they have been successful thus far in terms of winning matches, there have been elements that have required fine tuning.

This has notably been their ability to neutralise the spin threat the opposition pose - most notably against Bangladesh and Pakistan in the earlier group matches.

India provide an even greater test with in-form slow left-armer Rajeshwari Gayakwad leading a prodigious spin arsenal.

Tryon believes the Proteas now have a great opportunity to put the hard work they have done in the nets since those encounters into practice.

"We struggled a little bit against Bangladesh and Pakistan and so it's just making sure that we’re ticking that scoreboard over and not trying to get into two minds - I think if we play really good positive cricket, we can play them a little bit better.

"At the end of the day with the way you want to approach spin is just making sure we're still playing positive cricket. We know we want to try to take the strike as much as we can and I felt that we haven't done enough of that and not just against India.

"I think it's just making sure that we got really good plans against them and kind of back ourselves in that way and not kind of hold back a little bit. We are at the business end of the World Cup now and we don't want to be eating up too many dot balls. It's really important that we do that, especially going into the next game."

Tryon has confirmed South Africa have a fully-fit squad to choose from with seamer Masabata Klaas having recovered from her shoulder injury which kept her out of the Windies clash in Wellington.

@ZaahierAdams

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