India look to tick a few boxes against South Africa

India will face a litmus test against South Africa in the Women’s ODI World Cup match at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here on Thursday.

With two consecutive wins, the Women in Blue are one point behind table-topper Australia. However, his performance was not as smooth as he expected.

India’s explosive opening pair has not been able to step up so far and while the middle-order’s rescue efforts are welcome, it is not exactly going into the positive column of the think tank’s notes.

What doesn’t help is the advantage India has had over a long-standing position of weakness – its fielding. India has missed 41 chances in 16 ODI matches this year.

Particularly guilty of carelessness is Richa Ghosh whose returns till the stumps have been normal. His unbeaten 35 off 20 balls against Pakistan has been a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster batting record.

However, the home team will get a rest in the two-week training camp held at this venue before the tournament begins.

Having a chance to get a feel for the conditions here, with the reportedly high-scoring surfaces, will hold India in good stead against a more fire-potent South African line-up and, later, against Australia on Sunday.

The team will be boosted by the recovery and availability of Amanjot Kaur, who replaced Renuka Singh against Pakistan due to fever.

South Africa will also enter this competition with confidence having defeated New Zealand easily. The defeat at the hands of England now looks far behind the Proteas and the team is performing better in all departments in Indore.

With rain clouds looming over the coastal city, a covered pitch could present its own challenges and opportunities.

If Colombo is any example, the pitch may be damp and different types of bowlers may get some grip.

Left-arm spinners have dominated this tournament so far, so Nonkululeko Mlaba will hope to double the tally by taking four wickets against New Zealand.

His aggression will be crucial for South Africa to achieve their first win in this format against India since 2022.