Manchester, June 21 (IANS) South Africa left‑arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba admitted that facing India is ‘never easy’ but insisted her side is ready for the high‑stakes Women’s T20 World Cup Group A encounter at Old Trafford on Sunday. Sunday’s clash is also the first time both teams are meeting in a Women’s T20 World Cup game.

“Oh, obviously playing India is never easy. It’s never an easy game for us. Obviously they’re a good side and playing against each other, it’s always competitive. So, yeah, but we’re just ready for today’s game and the rest will follow,” Mlaba said to broadcasters ahead of the clash.

Reflecting on the previous outing, she conceded South Africa’s batting unit wasn’t at their best, though they managed to get a win over Pakistan. “I will say maybe we didn’t, obviously our batters, we didn’t work that harder for the team on that day. But I mean, they’re always gonna bounce back and I just can’t wait to see what they’re gonna do for us.”

On her own bowling, Mlaba revealed she has added new variations to her armoury. “Obviously I feel like most teams, they know me as someone who obviously have an arm ball, like the quicker one. So, I think now they got used to it. So I just decided to bring a just a very variation of balls. It’s slower than usual, but I obviously still bowl my quicker ball as well, so.”

She underlined the significance of the fixture in the context of the race to semi-finals. “It’s definitely an important game for us. Obviously, we’re looking to win. Looking at the net run rate and obviously with the points that we have, it’s definitely gonna be a game that we need to win. It’s a game that we’re all looking forward to.”

–IANS

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