Laura Wolvaardt Says India Will Feel the Heat in Home World Cup Final

South Africa Women’s captain Laura Wolvaardt is fully ready to take on the India challenge in the all-important World Cup Final on Sunday. She believes that India will be under more pressure, as they are playing at home, carrying the expectations of thousands of fans. This thought certainly holds value because playing the final at home will raise the pressure on India. They need to perform well in this high-stakes game, as losing it in front of a packed stadium is not an option for them.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Laura Wolvaardt said that playing the World Cup Final brings an exciting opportunity for her team. She is looking forward to this challenge, as the home pressure on India can give her side a favor in the match.

"I think [with] the whole crowd behind India, probably a sold-out stadium, it's going to be a very exciting opportunity. But at the same time, I think it puts a lot of pressure on them as well. They have the whole country behind them, and sort of expect them to win. I think it sort of plays in our favour, hopefully. They're a very good side. We're going to have to play some really good cricket to beat them.” said Laura Wolvaardt.

She then spoke about the words of South Africa’s head coach, who likes to motivate the team with patriotic messages. The captain, however, also emphasized the importance of staying calm, as it is the single most important thing in handling tough situations during a match.

"Mandla [Mashimbyi, South Africa head coach] normally does the really inspirational stuff, the 'you're carrying your country' type of thing. And then I think I'd just come with a little 'stay calm, girls' at the end. There's going to be a lot of noise, a lot happening, a lot of maybe different routines than you're used to in a normal game. But at the end of the day, we're going to have to do the basics for longer throughout the game, and hold the nerve for longer. I think just holding on and staying calm is going to go a long way tomorrow." said Laura Wolvaardt.

Speaking about her own mindset, Laura said that she does not focus too much on the result. It’s something that puts unnecessary pressure on her, which is not needed in big games like the upcoming final. She always tries to stay calm during crunch moments, as it allows her to perform better by staying in the present.

"I think for me, personally, I'm really trying not to think about the result. I think in those finals - or the first time I was in the final - you automatically think about the trophy and think about winning, and sort of get excited. Now I'm just really trying to stay [in the] present. We still have a really big game ahead of us against a really quality side.” said Laura Wolvaardt.

When asked how South Africa turned things around after their defeat to England, Laura said that games like that do not make them doubt their skills. She highlighted the team’s confidence, which helped everyone come back stronger after the defeat in the tournament opener.

"I think we don't just lose our skill or gain our skill overnight. It's definitely just a couple of games that we had to put behind us, and we were able to bounce back really well from those two games on both occasions. I think if we focus too much on that, then it wouldn't have been a good campaign for us. So I think we took the learnings, put it behind us, and just really focused on the next game that we needed to do well [in]." said Laura Wolvaardt.

The upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup Final against India on Sunday is a high-profile match, and South Africa are confident to perform well in it by backing their core skills. It would be interesting to see how they will counter India in this crucial contest, because the home team is currently high on confidence after defeating Australia in the semifinal.