South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and elected to field first against India in a rain-delayed Women’s World Cup final with both teams seeking to win their first title.
Thousands of fans In Indian jerseys waited patiently ahead of the start on a wet afternoon with a full house expected at Mumbai’s 45,000-capacity DY Patil stadium.
Rain delayed the toss by two hours but no overs have been lost in the 50-over contest.
South Africa’s women are into their first ODI World Cup final after they beat four-time winners England in the first semi-final and come in unchanged.
“Bit of rain around and there might be dew later on, hoping for a bit of slippiness early on with all the rain around,” said Wolvaardt, who hit 169 in the first semi-final.
India have been runners-up twice, in 2005 and 2017, and reached their third final by beating seven-time champions Australia in a thriller.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur said she would have also bowled first had she won the toss.
The hosts come in unchanged from their record chase of 339 against Australia.
“We will try to bat well and put up a decent score,” said Kaur. “I don’t think there will be much on the pitch after five, six overs.”
Teams
India women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Amanjot Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Kranti Gaud, N Shree Charani, Renuka Singh.
South Africa women: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Annerie Dercksen, Anneke Bosch, Marizanne Kapp, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba.
