India will be missing their star opener Pratika Rawal in the Women’s World Cup 2025 final against South Africa. India have a chance to create history by winning the final and their first-ever women’s title.
India look to clinch the ultimate glory in women’s cricket as they face South Africa in the final in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, November 2. The Women in Blue entered their third final after an unbelievable win over Australia in the semifinal and now look to conquer the world.
Meanwhile, star opener Pratika Rawal was not part of the final against the Proteas as the toss of the clash took place after a rain delay. Pratika was one of the stars with the bat for the Women in Blue, having scored 308 runs in six innings with a century against New Zealand.
Why is Pratika Rawal not playing in the final?
For the unversed, Pratika was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup 2025 ahead of the knockouts. She had sustained an ankle injury in India’s last league stage clash against Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Shafali Verma was named her replacement, with the BCCI confirming the same.
“Team India all-rounder Pratika Rawal has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 due to an ankle injury and knee injury sustained while fielding in India’s final league stage match of the tournament against Bangladesh, in Navi Mumbai,” the BCCI said in a statement.
“The BCCI Medical team will continue to monitor her progress. The team wishes Pratika Rawal a speedy recovery. The Women’s selection committee has named Shafali Verma as the replacement of Pratika Rawal,” it added.
India asked to bat first by South Africa
Coming to the clash, India were asked to bat first after South Africa had won the toss in the final. The Proteas captain, Laura Wolvaardt, reasoned her decision due to the conditions with rain around and due set to come in later in the evening. Both teams went with the unchanged sides.
“We are going to bowl first. Bit of rain around and there might be dew later on, hoping for a bit of slippiness early on with all the rain around. We are unchanged from the semis. Big game for us and we are really excited for the opportunity to be here and play in front of a big crowd. We are very confident,” Wolvaardt said at the toss.
Meanwhile, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur stated that she also wanted to field first. “We would’ve bowled first as well, given the weather and conditions. But yeah, it’s an important game, and somehow it feels like we’re back in rhythm. Hopefully, we can bat freely and put up a strong total on the board. This one’s a little sticky (pitch) because of the rain and the overhead conditions. The outfield is slightly damp too, but I think after five or six overs it should settle down nicely. We’ll try to do the same things again – play with intent, stay positive, and back our plans. We spoke about that game that night, enjoyed the win, and then had two days to recover and reset. Everyone’s back focused now, and we’re really looking forward to this game,” Kaur said.