Women’s ODI World Cup preview | Unbeaten India face resurgent South Africa in toughest test yet

‌India will have their toughest assignment yet in the Women’s ODI World Cup when it crosses paths against South Africa at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. The hosts, who are unbeaten after the first two rounds, will meet a resurgent Proteas, who recovered well to thump New Zealand after being given a hiding by England in the opening game. India are currently second in the points table with four points from two matches, while South Africa are fifth with two points from one win and a loss.

The Women in Blue would hope their best performance with the bat is yet to come after a good showing by the lower middle order bailed them out in both matches. The opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, who were in top form in the lead-up to the World Cup, are yet to strike big, leaving the middle order to do all the heavy lifting.

In the first game, the hosts were 124/6 before a century stand between Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur helped them put 269 on the board. In the next game too, the Women in Blue sat at a tricky 159/5 before a similar rescue mission took them close to 250 against Pakistan.

However, the bowling has been impressive in both games, getting the opposition all out on each occasion. The spin duo of Deepti and Sneh Rana has picked up 10 wickets in two matches, while pacer Kranti Goud has shown promise with four scalps.

Meanwhile, South Africa, led by Tazmin Brits, put on an improved batting display to compensate for their underwhelming show against England. Brits continued her scorching form, scoring her fifth century in 2025, the most by any woman player in a calendar year. 

Form Guide

IND W Form: LWLWW

SA W Form: WWLLW

IND W vs SA W head-to-head in ODIs

India has the upper hand in the head-to-head duel against South Africa with 20 wins in 33 games, with the Proteas winning 12 of them. India are unbeaten in their last five ODIs against South Africa, winning each of them, with the last loss coming in March 2022. 

IND W 20 - 12 SA W

Pitch and Conditions

The surface at the ACA-VDCA Stadium is expected to be flat and dry, with the willow-wielders hoping to thrive in perfect batting conditions. It will be the first ODI at the venue in this World Cup, and the first Women’s ODI here since January 2014. Both captains are expected to bowl first, with four of the five games at this venue being won by chasing sides.

It will be a cloudy and humid afternoon in Visakhapatnam, with temperatures expected to be around 31 degrees. There might be some rain ahead of the start of the match and during the second innings, with the temperatures sliding to 26 degrees at night. 

Team News

Both sides are expected to retain the winning combination that featured in their last matches against Pakistan and New Zealand, respectively.

IND W Expected XI

Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shree Charani, Kranti Goud, Renuka Singh.

SA W Expected XI

Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba.

Broadcasting Platforms 

The IND W vs SA W ODI World Cup match will be digitally streamed on the JioHotstar app and website in India from 3:00 PM IST on Thursday, with live telecast on the Star Sports network.