Can South Africa women’s claim maiden ICC title vs India?:’Chokers’ set to play fifth final in last 3 years; SA men’s team secured WTC mace earlier

In the world of cricket, if any team has dominated after Australia and India in the last 3 years, it is South Africa. At the international level, Proteas men’s and women’s teams have reached the finals of 5 out of 7 ICC tournaments. Not only that, but the men’s team also washed away the years-old ‘chokers’ tag by winning the World Test Championship final this year. On 2nd November, South Africa will now face home team India in the Women’s ODI World Cup final. Neither team has ever won a World Cup, but India Women played their last ICC final 5 years ago. On the other hand, South Africa women’s team is going to play their third consecutive final in an ICC tournament. Evolution arc of South Africa since 2023 Part-1: South Africa Men’s Team Netherlands knocks SA out of T20I World Cup After losing the 2015 ODI World Cup semi-final to New Zealand, the South African team went through a tough patch. By July 2023, seven ICC tournaments had taken place, and the team could not even enter the semi-final round, let alone the final, in any of them. In the 2022 T20I World Cup, South Africa had a golden opportunity to reach the knockout round. In Group-2, the team defeated Bangladesh and India. The match against Zimbabwe was inconclusive. To reach the knockout stage, the team had to win just one of the last two matches against Pakistan and the Netherlands. The team lost to Pakistan, but restricted the Netherlands to 158 runs in the first innings. South Africa had scored 87 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets by the 12th over. 72 runs were needed in 8 overs with 7 wickets remaining. From here, the team lost 5 wickets and could only reach a score of 145 runs in 20 overs. Netherlands won the match by 13 runs and knocked South Africa out of the World Cup. Lost to Australia in the ODI World Cup Semi-final In 2023, South Africa made a comeback in the ODI World Cup and entered the semi-finals by winning 7 out of 9 league stage matches. The team even defeated Australia in the round-robin, and now their semi-final was against them in Kolkata. Throughout the tournament, while batting first, South Africa won 7 matches. Against Australia at Eden Gardens, they also got to bat first, but rain had other plans. The sky became cloudy, and conditions became easy for bowling. The team lost 5 wickets for 24 runs. Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller took the team past the 100-run mark. Klaasen was out after scoring 47 runs. After him, Miller was left alone; he scored a century, but could only take the team to 212. While facing a small target, Australia also lost 7 wickets for 193 runs, but Mitchell Starc and captain Pat Cummins formed a partnership and took the team to the final. Stench of T20I World Cup final loss vs India After a close defeat in the ODI World Cup, South Africa made a comeback in the T20I World Cup the very next year. The team defeated Afghanistan in the semi-final and entered the final, where they faced India in Barbados. Batting first, Team India lost 3 wickets for 34 runs. From here, Virat Kohli and Axar Patel steadied the team. Virat scored 76 and Axar scored 47, leading the team to a 176-run total. Chasing 177 runs, South Africa scored 147 runs in 15 overs. Only 30 runs were needed off 30 balls, with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller at the crease. However, from thereon, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya brought India back into the game. 16 runs were needed in the last over, Hardik gave away only 8 runs and kept the trophy away from South Africa. The very next year, the team also lost to New Zealand in the Champions Trophy semi-final. Stripped off the ‘Choker’ tag by winning WTC vs Australia South Africa, which had been waiting for years to become World Champions, finally saw its wait end in 2025. The team won the series in Asian conditions and qualified for the World Test Championship final for the first time. The championship match was played at The Lord’s Stadium in London. Batting first on a difficult pitch, Australia scored 212 runs. In response, South Africa could only manage 138 runs. In the second innings, South Africa made a comeback and bundled out the Kangaroos for 207 runs. The team was given a target of 282 runs, but by then the pitch had become easier for batting. The pitch was helpful for batting, but South Africa had to come out with ‘chokers’ tag and the record of never having become World Champions. The team also lost 2 wickets for 70 runs. From there, Aiden Markram and captain Temba Bavuma took control of the innings. Bavuma was out after scoring 66 runs, but he took the team past 200. Meanwhile, Markram scored 136 runs and the team won the Test Championship by losing 5 wickets. This was the first time South Africa had become World Champions in any format. Part-2: South Africa Women’s Team England defeated them in the ODI World Cup semi-final After returning to international cricket, South Africa Women played their first ICC semi-final in the 2017 ODI World Cup, but the team lost to England. In 2022, they met England again in the semi-final, and here too, England defeated them and knocked them out. This time, the team lost by a large margin of 137 runs. First lost finals to Australia, then New Zealand South Africa made a comeback in the 2023 and 2024 T20I World Cups. Both times the team reached the final, but lost the title match to Australia in 2023 and New Zealand in 2024. In 2023, the team had to suffer a close 19-run defeat on their home ground. Score settled with England; Reached third consecutive final After losing 2 consecutive finals, South Africa entered the semi-finals of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup. In the league stage, the team lost 2 matches against England and Australia. Both times, the team could not even score 100 runs while batting first. England had bowled them out for 69. After the match, South African captain Laura Wolvaardt said that they are not a team that gets all-out for 69 runs. In the semi-final, Captain Wolvaardt took the reins in her hands and single-handedly scored 169 runs. Her innings helped the team post a score of 319 runs and defeat England by 125 runs, entering their third consecutive ICC final. Title clash against India on their home ground South Africa Women will now play the World Cup final against India on 2nd November, on India’s home ground. A total of 34 ODI matches have been played between the two teams, with India winning 20 and South Africa winning 13. Before the tournament, India had defeated South Africa in 5 consecutive ODIs, but the team settled the score in the league stage and defeated India Women by 3 wickets. On the other hand, India chased the biggest target in ODI history against 7-time champions Australia in the semi-final and entered the final. The match will be played at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. It will be important to see which team becomes the World Champion for the first time now.