At the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 Final held at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, rain played an influential role from its very start. Following a delay due to wet conditions, South Africa Women captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and decided to bowl first against hosts India Women – Al Jazeera +2 The Economic Times covered this event live!
Rain began falling approximately 15 minutes prior to the scheduled time for a toss, prompting match officials to confirm that it would occur at a later time – 5 pm Indian Standard Time being planned as the official start time.
The Economic Times provided coverage on this event.
Wolvaardt explained her decision to bowl first by citing conditions as her reasoning: “There’s been some rain around and this pitch offers early seam movement and bowling advantages,” she stated prior to starting play for Team USA against Pakistan at Lord’s.
The Guardian published these remarks.
India returned to the Women’s ODI World Cup final, led by captain Harmanpreet Kaur and hoping for their first Women’s ODI World Cup title after unsuccessful final appearances in 2005 and 2017.
South Africa were also making their inaugural Women’s ODI World Cup Final appearance, after earning it with an outstanding semi-final performance, according to The Indian Express.
Opting to bowl first has strategic repercussions: under damp conditions at the start, South African bowlers might extract additional movement or seam, supporting their decision. Chasing in later phases could prove fruitful if conditions ease; any dew would make batsmen’s jobs easier under lights – an element Wolvaardt mentioned during his speech at Wolvaardt reinforced this strategic angle. The Guardian covered these developments.
India must now play to their strengths when batting first and face an uphill task of controlling early conditions, setting an aggressive total, and then defending it through unpredictable pitch behaviour as the game unfolds. Home supporters, despite an earlier disruption, will look for strong performances from openers such as Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana who had proven their mettle earlier in the tournament.
The rain disruption added an additional element of uncertainty. Match officials confirmed the existence of a reserve day should rain persist, providing both teams a safety net but raising questions as to how the weather might impact momentum, pitch conditions and strategy.
As India started their innings off perfectly with a powerful opening partnership and aggressive intent from their batters, South Africa secured the toss and elected to exploit early conditions by choosing their bowlers to strike early and exert pressure. Both teams are equally desperate for titles so the outcome may depend on this crucial decision by either captain.
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+1 This final is more than a match; it represents an opportunity for India to avenge past near misses and for South Africa to secure its maiden championship. And with rain dictating toss decisions, bowlers and tacticians now hold an advantage during early phases; ultimately the outcome may depend on how each side adapts to conditions, handles pressure effectively, and executes under their home crowd’s lights.