ICC Women’s World Cup 2022: Match 2, BAN-W vs SA-W Match Prediction – Who will win today’s match?

Match 2 of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 will see the Bangladesh lock horns with South Africa at University Oval in Dunedin on March 5. South Africa have an impressive ODI record coming into the quadrennial event having won 28 out of 43 matches with a win percentage of 65%. They are one of the favorites in this edition of the World Cup after Australia. However, they lost both their warm-up fixtures against India by two runs and England by six wickets respectively.

Bangladesh on the other hand are making a maiden Women’s World Cup appearance and would be hoping to leave no stone unturned as they compete with the world-class teams to make their presence felt. While they will be up against a formidable South African team, Bangladesh can take heart from the fact that they won all their four games in the World Cup Qualifiers to come this far.

They have only managed to win 13 out of 42 matches coming into this competition with a win percentage of 31%. Alike the Proteas, Bangladesh also lost both their warm-up games by huge margins to England and Pakistan respectively.

Bangladesh vs South Africa ICC Women’s World Cup 2022, Match 2

Venue: University Oval, Dunedin

Date & Time: March 5th, 11:00 AM LOCAL and 3:30 AM IST.

Live Streaming: Star Sports Network for Television and Disney + Hotstar app for live streaming

Pitch Report:

The University Oval in Dunedin is a bit tricky where the surface is expected to be low and slow and the weather conditions could also make a huge impact. The average first innings score here when it comes to One Day Internationals is 242. In the last 13 ODIs that have been played at this venue, the teams batting second have gone on to win eight of them.

While the teams often look to bat first after winning the toss in New Zealand, it could be different in this contest as the captain who calls it right at the toss would prefer chasing since it is a batting paradise and a run-fest could well be on the cards.

Probable Playing XIs for Bangladesh W vs South Africa W

Bangladesh W

Fargana Hoque, Nahida Akter, Rumana Ahmed, Sharmin Akhter, Nigar Sultana (c & wk), Fahima Khatun, Salma Khatun, Jahanara Alam, Lata Mondal, Murshida Khatun, Ritu Moni

South Africa W

Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee, Sune Luus (c), Mignon du Preez, Chloe Tryon, Trisha Chetty (wk), Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune

Bangladesh W vs South Africa W Head to Head

Overall games-17, Bangladesh W-2, South Africa W-15

Probable Top Performers

Probable best batter: Laura Wolvaardt

Laura Wolvaardt is arguably the most consistent performer with the bat for South Africa W. Even though she had made her international debut at the young age of 16, she has since then gone to establish herself as one of the team’s best white-ball specialists. The 22-year-old has so far amassed 2,482 runs from 66 ODIs averaging 44.32. It is to be noted that Laura was also the highest run-scorer for the Proteas in the 2017 Women’s World Cup finishing with 324 runs.

The emerging talent would be expected to start from where she had left off last time when South Africa face Bangladesh in the tournament opener.

Probable best bowler: Shabnim Ismail

The Bangladesh team must be very cautious against Shabnim Ismail who has the ability to dismantle any batting line-up with her sheer pace and accuracy. The tearaway fast bowler has a wealth of experience under her belt having registered 164 scalps from 114 ODIs. Ismail seems to be in good form having taken three wickets in her last three One Day Internationals.

Apart from all these, the 33-year-old is also the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the 50-overs format and therefore, even if the surface happens to be batter-friendly, Bangladesh just cannot afford to take any chances against South Africa’s best frontline pacer and that too with the new ball in hand.

Disclaimer: This prediction is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While making your prediction, consider the points mentioned, and make your own decision