Tazmin Brits’ well compiled half-century followed by Marizanne Kapp and Tumi Sekhukhune’s exploits with the ball gave South Africa a convincing victory in the 1st T20I.
The Proteas women led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt are touring Pakistan for a three-match T20I series from 16th to 20th September 2024. The T20I series will be an ideal dress rehearsal for both sides before they head to the United Arab Emirates for the upcoming 9th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Pakistan’s skipper Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to field first in the 1st T20I at the Multan Cricket Stadium. It is Fatima Sana’s first assignment after being appointed as a full-time skipper in the T20I format. After being inserted to bat first, the South African openers Tazmin Brits and skipper Laura Wolvaardt got their side off to a decent start with a 20-run opening partnership. Sadia Iqbal struck twice in two balls to land a double blow on the visitors, including the big wicket of the opposition skipper Laura Wolvaardt in the 3rd over of the innings.
Marizanne Kapp joined Tazmin Brits at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 21-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side close to the 50-run mark. Former skipper Nida Dar picked up the wicket of Marizanne Kapp to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Pakistan. Sune Luus joined opening batter Tazmin Brits at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 63-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark.
Sadia Iqbal returned and picked up the wicket of Sune Luus to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. South Africa eventually ended up with a total of 132/4 in their quota of overs courtesy of an unbeaten fifteen-run seven-ball cameo from Chloe Tryon. Tazmin Brits (56* off 63 balls), Sune Luus (27 off 27 balls), Chloe Tryon (15* off 7 balls), and Marizanne Kapp (14 off 14 balls), were the top performers with the bat for South Africa.
Sadia Iqbal (4-0-34-3), former skipper Nida Dar (4-0-11-1), Nashra Sandhu (4-0-25-0), and Tuba Hassan (4-0-25-0) were the top performers with the ball for Pakistan.
Chasing a target of 133, Pakistan got off to a horrible start as they lost top order inside the first 8 overs of the run chase. Aliya Riaz joined former skipper Nida Dar at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 26-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side closer to the 50-run mark.
Tumi Sekhukhune picked up the wicket of former skipper Nida Dar to provide the 5th breakthrough for South Africa. Skipper Fatima Sana joined Aliya Riaz at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed unbeaten 75-run partnership for the 6th wicket. However, the pair failed to get their side over the line, as they were restricted to 122/5 in their quota of overs. As a result, the home side fell 10 runs short of the target.
Aliya Riaz stayed unbeaten on a well-deserved half-century (52* off 39 balls), alongside skipper Fatima Sana (37* off 24 balls), and former skipper Nida Dar (16 off 26 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Pakistan. Marizanne Kapp (4-1-22-2), Tumi Sekhukhune (3-0-15-2), Seshnie Naidu (3-0-25-1), Ayabonga Khaka (4-0-27-0), and Chloe Tryon (3-0-13-0) were the top performers with the ball for South Africa.
Tazmin Brits was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant unbeaten half-century (56* off 63 balls) with the bat. She played a crucial role in helping her side post a competitive total on the board, as the visitors South Africa eventually sealed a convincing 10-run victory to go 1-0 up in the three-match T20I series.