South Africa eye third straight win after dramatic turnaround

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Nadine de Klerk helped South Africa to an unlikely win against India © Getty

"I don't think I have seen anything like that in all my cricketing career," South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt said after their thrilling win over India the other night.

Those words, in a way, also summed up her team's remarkable change of fortunes. After being bowled out for 69 in their World Cup opener, SA have since scripted a stirring turnaround, first chasing 232 against New Zealand with almost nine overs to spare and then stunning hosts India in a come-from-behind victory. Now, with two wins on the bounce, they will be eyeing a third on the trot when they take on Bangladesh in Vizag.

"I think we actually took the win, but we don't really want to dwell on the win," Tumi Sekhukhune said ahead of the match. "We want to focus on other matches as they are as important as the one that we played. So, yeah, we're looking forward to the other matches."

Bangladesh are coming off a tough 100-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in Guwahati. It will be quite a task for them to adjust to the flatter conditions of Vizag against an in-form South African side, who have already played a match at the venue. But in their first couple of matches, Bangladesh had shown fight and would hope to revive that spirit and make the most of the conditions on offer.

It was a particularly difficult defeat against New Zealand for Bangladesh, with the top five batters not even getting into double digits. The game had slipped out of Bangladesh's grasp in the batting powerplay itself owing to an overly cautious and shaky approach and they will be keen to course-correct. India and Australia have shown that Vizag remains a good batting venue.

When:Oct 13, 03:00 PM LOCAL

Where:ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam

What to expect:Another good batting surface, with dew playing a role in the second half. There's some rain forecasted for the afternoon.

South Africa: An unchanged side should ideally take the field, barring last-minute injuries. .

Probable XI:Laura Wolvaardt(c), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Anneke Bosch, Sinalo Jafta(w), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba

Bangladesh: Changes may be in line to prop up the batting, which has clearly been their weaker suit.

Probable XI: Rubya Haider, Sharmin Akhter, Nigar Sultana(w/c), Sobhana Mostary, Sumaiya Akter, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Nahida Akter, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Nishita Akter Nishi

Did you know?

- South Africa have won 11 out of the last 12 ODIs against Bangladesh.

- Marizanne Kapp is two wickets away from overtaking Shabnim Ismail (36) for most wickets by a South African at World Cups.

What they said

"There are no easy teams. We take every game as important. We look at it as important" - Tumi Sekhukhune

"We're confident. Whenever we play, we play to win, no one comes here to lose. However, we collapsed in batting in the previous matches, but we're hopeful it'll improve tomorrow" - Nahida Akter

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