South Africa left out Tazmin Brits at No. 3 for Lara Goodall and Masabata Klaas replaced Tumi Sekhukhune
Toss India chose to bat vs South Africa
Jhulan Goswami was out of India’s XI for their must-win match against South Africa with a side strain, leaving India without their most experienced bowler as they aim to make the semi-finals by opting to bat. Goswami played in all six of India’s group stage matches but has not had a tournament to remember, with seven wickets at an average of 30.57. Meghna Singh took Goswami’s place in the attack. India made one other change and brought Deepti Sharma in for Poonam Yadav.
It was the first time in five World Cups that India were playing without Goswami.
The attack would have to wait to make a mark after Mithali Raj chose to set a total at the Hagley Oval, despite South Africa’s good record chasing. South Africa have not lost when chasing in their last 15 ODIs, dating back to October 2019, and have won all three matches they have played chasing at the tournament so far.
But, India may be hoping for a slightly more relaxed South African team, who have already qualified for the semi-finals in second place. South Africa reeled off four successive wins to open their campaign before losing to Australia and sharing points with West Indies, and are guaranteed to avoid Australia in the final four. They haven’t played their best cricket, or found their best combination, and will use this match to fine tune.
They made two changes to their team after leaving out Tazmin Brits at No. 3, and bringing in Lara Goodall. In the attack, Masabata Klaas returned after a shoulder injury to replace Tumi Sekhukhune.
South Africa 1 Laura Wolvaardt, 2 Lizelle Lee, 3 Lara Goodall, 4 Sune Luus (capt), 5 Mignon du Preez, 6 Marizanne Kapp, 7 Chloe Tryon, 8 Trisha Chetty (wk), 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Masabata Klaas, 11 Ayabonga Khaka
India 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Shafali Verma, 2 Yastika Bhatia, 3 Mithali Raj (capt), 5 Harmanpreet Kaur, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Pooja Vastrakar, 8 Sneh Rana, 9 Deepti Sharma, 10 Meghna Singh, 11 Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent