Women's World Cup 2025: Unbeaten Australia take on South Africa
What's the story
The 2025 ICC Women's World Cup is set to witness an exciting clash between Australia and South Africa in Match No. 26. The game will be played at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Saturday, October 25, starting at 3:00pm IST. Both teams have already qualified for the semi-finals, with Australia leading the table after winning five of their six matches (one ended without a result). Here is the match preview.
Team standings
South Africa on a 5-match winning streak
South Africa, currently second on the table, have also performed well in the tournament with five wins and one loss from their six outings. The team, led by Laura Wolvaardt, is on a five-match winning streak. Their last victory came against Pakistan by a massive 150 runs. As this is the last league game for both teams, they would want to enter the knock-outs on the back of a win.
Venue analysis
Pitch report and other details
The Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore has been the best batting venue of the five used in this tournament, with an average innings score of 281. Spinners have fared slightly better than pacers on this pitch. Both teams have strong batting line-ups and world-class batters, promising a high-scoring encounter. Teams batting first and teams chasing have each won two matches at this venue in the ongoing tourney.
Historical matchup
A look at head-to-head record
Australia and South Africa have faced each other 18 times in ODIs, with the former winning 16 matches, as per ESPNcricinfo. South Africa have managed to win only once. In ODI WCs, the head-to-head record is 8-0 in Australia's favor. This historical record gives Australia an edge going into this match, but it will be interesting to see how things play out on the day of the match.
Information
Will Alyssa Healy return to the XI?
Australia's captain Alyssa Healy, who has been in red-hot form, had missed the previous match against England due to a calf injury. Tahlia McGrath, who led the Aussies against England, didn't confirm Healy's return on the eve of the game. Hence, Georgia Voll is likely to continue in the playing XI.
Team lineup
A look at the probable XIs
Australia (Probable XI): Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Voll, Tahlia McGrath (c), Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Beth Mooney (wk), Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Sophie Molineux, and Megan Schutt. South Africa (Probable XI): Laura Wolvaardt (c), Sune Luus, Tazmin Brits, Nondumiso Shangase, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka, Karabo Meso (wk), Nadine de Klerk, and Nonkululeko Mlaba.
Performers
Here are the key performers
Ashleigh Gardner is the only non-opener with multiple hundreds in the ongoing event (2). With 15 wickets at an average of 12.13, Annabel Sutherland is the leading wicket-taker of the competition. Earlier in the competition, Tazmin Brits became the first woman to score five ODI centuries in a year. Nonkululeko Mlaba owns 11 wickets in this tourney at 16.64.
Poll
