India and SA prepare for game-changing World Cup final

When India and South Africa meet in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, for the first time in 25 years, a new name will appear on the trophy.

Given the enormous impact it will have on whoever wins, not only is this a symbol of the game’s growth and development, but it is also a mouth-watering prospect.

South Africa’s cricket team is a perennial “almost,” and while their men’s team won the World Test Championship earlier this year, Laura Wolvaardt’s team has had a history of near misses.

The T20 World Cup final in 2023 was held in such a heart-pounding way that it almost eclipsed Australia’s eventual defeat, but the loss to New Zealand in the final the following year was the one that won.

In contrast, India could change women’s cricket forever.

There have also been some close calls, most notably the nine-run defeat by England at Lord’s in 2017, and it seems as though the team, which includes generational stars like Deepti Sharma, Smriti Mandhana, and Harmanpreet Kaur, will eventually receive a trophy.

People gathered outside the gates of DY Patil Stadium on Saturday, still 24 hours away from the first ball being bowled, yelling and trying to get last-minute tickets.

The winner will receive a record sum of money ($3.3 million), which would greatly improve South African cricket’s chances of making the finals despite its under-resourced domestic system.

It seems to be more about the shift in reach, attention, and opportunity for India.

This World Cup final won’t be overstating that lives will be changed.

Both teams are full of inspiring tales of resilience and overcoming adversity, with many being from nations where opportunities for women and girls in sport are much less accessible or accepted than those in England or Australia.

Shafali Verma, the opening Indian, cut her hair short to allow her to enroll herself as a boy at an academy.

To provide for the family, Radha Yadav, her team-mate, used her Women’s Premier League (WPL) salary to buy her father a grocery store.

Because there were no girls’ cricket teams for her, Jemimah Rodrigues, the hero of India’s remarkable semi-final against Australia, played cricket with her brothers in Mumbai.

Before making her international debut, she also waited at Mumbai Airport to greet India’s 2017 finalists, age 16 instead. She now has a chance to make a big change.

Alex Hartley, a World Cup winner in 2017, stated in the BBC Test Match Special, “I want to see girls in India not have to pretend to be boys to play cricket.”

They can simply play cricket as girls, regardless of what happens on Sunday, without having to act like they are someone else.

Nonkululeko Mlaba is a reference to South Africa. Due to the lengthy and potentially dangerous journeys she would have to make, the spinner moved to accommodations provided by Cricket South Africa to be closer to their training facilities.

Annerie Dercksen, a young all-star who didn’t have access to television when she was a child, read the newspaper to learn cricket.

Tazmin Brits, the opener, overcame a devastating car accident that ended her Olympic javelin ambitions this year, hitting a five centuries to become a key player in its third consecutive ICC final.

It’s difficult to call because neither team has had a smooth ride into the final.

South Africa won five consecutive group stages with 69 and 97, respectively, against England and Australia, a trio-wicket thriller against India.

After the latter, they did not face England in the semis, but Wolvaardt’s unforgettable 169 and Marizanne Kapp’s 5-20 were the only ones who could have won.

They will be expected to rise again on Sunday as South Africa’s stars.

Kapp is the warrior, unlike Wolvaardt, who is unflappable and composed. She can’t hold back the tears at the national anthem, which she claims will burn with passion at every wicket she claims, despite five World Cups to go.

For India, it will depend on whether they can handle the high expectations and handle the emotions of the heartfelt semi-final, with skipper Harmanpreet stressing how crucial it is to have a mental reset afterward.

The captain described the semi-final as “a very high-pressure game and very intense.”

Because playing in a home final is the biggest stage and biggest opportunity for us, we have been discussing how to be more focused, more balanced, and at the same time maintaining our spirits.

There is nothing more important in our lives, both as cricketers and as captains, than that we must enjoy this.

In this matchup, South Africa leads by one point on home advantage, despite having lost three of their games at the DY Patil.

With the entire audience backing India, “it’s going to be a very tough game,” said Wolvaardt.

“But I believe it also places a lot of pressure on them,” she continued. They are sort of expected to prevail because they have the entire nation to their rear.

“I believe that, hopefully, favors us. We’ll need to play some excellent cricket to defeat them, but we’re really looking forward to the challenge.

If the atmosphere can match the atmosphere from the semi-final, it will be electric.