South Africa is one win away from officially confirming their spot in the Semis while for West Indies it is a must-win virtual knockout and their entry into the semis solely depends on the win in this fixture. West Indies in the last 5 matches had a single feature in common, that’s the batting order collapse. They are purely dependent on the top-3 batters like Hayley Mathews and Stafanie Taylor for runs. Match after match right from team India, then Australia, Bangladesh and Pakistan have followed a peculiar plan to strike and remove these three batters and none of the other players except Shemaine Campbelle was not able to stabilise any sort of a collapse or dismissal of these batters.
That’s a major concern for this team and the entire batting order has to step up in the crunch match that determines its survival in the tournament. The bowling department has always been consistent, and only if the batters give a solid case to defend or chase, the Windies’ bowling will remain helpless. The Proteas is a team that always fought with its will and fighting spirit. This is a match that serves its purpose to be consistent and fill the gaps that were present in the thrillers they were part of.
South Africa know the agony of losing close matches, so in this tournament when they were put into such conditions, they had different match-winners and were not dependent on their main players to complete the task at hand. The team had clarity in the roles each player was executing at each level of the match. But the batting lineup needs tweaks in both numbers 3 and 5, both these players have to make impactful comebacks and add more strength to the batting order. The bowling unit is one of the best attacks in this tournament, they will once again play a key role to give the Proteas a good start.
The result of this match will decide Windies fate to qualify for the semi-finals and post its loss in the previous match; this has opened up new opportunities for teams like England, India, Newzealand and Pakistan to grab the semi-final slots. Windies are a dynamic team and Proteas are a disciplined lot who looked more balanced. But a turnaround and an enjoyable match for Windies is not far away if it gives itself more time to re-balance itself specifically while bating.
Probable Playing XI:
SOUTH AFRICA: Lizelle Lee, Laura Wolvaardt, Lara Goodall, Sune Luus, Mignon Du Preez, Chloe Tryon, Marizanne Kapp, Ayobonga Khaka, Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas, Tumi Sekhukhune
WEST INDIES: Stafanie Taylor (C), Hayley Matthews, Deandra Dottin, Shemaine Campbelle, Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry, Karishma Ramharack, Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Chedean Nation, Shakera Selman.
