People like Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur haven’t gotten off to a fast start. But the Women in Blue have been saved from difficulty in both games by their middle and lower order hitters. India’s renowned top order has struggled in the first two 2025 Women’s World Cup matches. Against less-favored opponents like Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, the immensely successful opening duo, have only scored 14 and 48 runs, respectively.
Amanjot Kaur, Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh, and Deepti Sharma have all contributed significantly to India’s success thus far in the competition. India lost badly to Sri Lanka, falling to 124/6 before settling for 269/8. Before reaching 247, the co-hosts were at 159/5 in the match against Pakistan.
In the match against a formidable team like South Africa at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, October 9, it could be risky to rely largely on the lower-order batsmen to bring India back to life once more. India’s batting depth is a strong point, according to the seasoned Jemimah Rodrigues, but she acknowledged that the top-order batsmen will need to step up soon.
“I believe our starting pairing has been the best if you’ve seen every match up to this point. In women’s cricket, Pratika and Smriti have combined for 1000 runs thus far. Therefore, if you speak with me, the opposing team will be aware that we are batting to the very end. Therefore, if one doesn’t click, the other will take over, like In the last match we had Richa (Ghosh), Deepti (Sharma), and Amanjot (Kaur) did. Jemimah Rodrigues clarified.
“The ball was too fantastic in the first game, and I was unable to accomplish much. The team’s score was more significant than my own because I had a strong partnership in the second game. We took our time and provided the rest of the squad with a solid platform because that wicket (Colombo) was difficult. “So, I am not thinking much about myself, my only approach is that I want to do whatever it takes for the team, and if I do that and my mindset is right, then we can reach 250.”
Jemimah Rodrigues stated, “I want to make sure I do my job for the team first, even though I know performance will follow.”
The opening stand that has worked so well for them will be broken by us: Nadine De Klerk
According to South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk, her team will make every effort to get rid of Smriti Mandhana cheaply on Thursday. Despite the fact that the southpaw has only scored 31 runs in her first two innings of the season, de Klerk is well aware of her exceptional batting ability and track record against South Africa.
Indeed, she is a talented player. In the past, she has performed well against us. However, given that things are moving a little more slowly, I believe we’re going to put a lot of effort into either keeping her quiet or trying to pressure her into getting her early,” Klerk stated the night before the game.
De Klerk is aware that South Africa’s plans would depend heavily on taking early wickets, especially if it means disrupting India’s opening pair.
The opening stand that has been so effective for them over the past several months will be broken, and we will make every effort to get that middle-order in as soon as possible. As anyone who hasn’t spent a lot of time in the middle knows, it may be challenging to walk in and score a tonne of points in challenging circumstances. “So, hopefully everything goes as planned,” she remarked.
India
