The South African women’s team is currently on their maiden tour to Pakistan for a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series. The tour commenced on 1st September 2023 with a T20I series. The visitors suffered a humiliating series defeat as Pakistan completed a historic whitewash in their first-ever series on home soil. In this article, we will have a look at how things panned out in the first ODI.
The South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to bat first in the first ODI. The South African openers got off to a quick start after assessing the conditions on offer. They scored nine runs per over in the first three overs. However, the 25-year-old left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu provided the first breakthrough for Pakistan by dismissing opener Tazmin Brits to break the dangerous-looking 34-run opening stand.
The 27-year-old batter Laura Goodall joined skipper Laura Wolvaardt at the crease but the duo couldn’t stitch a substantial stand as the debutant off-spinner Umm-e-Hani got the big scalp of the South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt. Former South African skipper Sune Luus joined Laura Goodall at the crease and the duo attempted to steady the innings with a 24-run partnership for the third wicket. Just when the duo looked settled to lead the recovery phase for the visitors, they lost the wicket of Laura Goodall to the part-time medium pace of Aliya Riaz.
Marizanne Kapp joined former skipper Sune Luus at the crease and the duo stitched a massive 183-run partnership for the fourth wicket to bring South Africa in a very strong position, setting themselves up for a blockbuster finish. Marizanne Kapp also completed her well-deserved century off just 104 balls, her second in ODIs through the course of that partnership.
Umm-e-Hani's outstanding catch in the deep put an end to Marizanne Kapp's impressive innings! #CricketTwitter #PAKvSA pic.twitter.com/5v2DP6luPl
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 9, 2023
Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu provided the much-needed breakthrough for Pakistan by dismissing Marizanne Kapp on the very next delivery after she completed her century. The 23-year-old allrounder Nadine de Klerk joined Sune Luus at the crease to provide the finishing touches to the innings by scoring 29 runs at a strike rate of 126.08. South Africa ended their innings at 292/4 in their quota of overs.
Sune Luus completed her maiden ODI century and stayed unbeaten on 107, scoring at a strike rate of 82.94. The left-arm off-spinner Nashra Sandhu (10-1-50-2) was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan.
Chasing a massive target of 293 on the board was going to be an uphill task for the home side. The Pakistan openers got off to a cautious start in the run chase. However, right-arm pacer Ayabonga Khakha dismissed the 18-year-old debutant Shawaal Zulfiqar to provide the first breakthrough for South Africa. At one stage Pakistan was in deep trouble finding themselves at 49/4 by the end of 13 overs, courtesy of a double strike from the 23-year-old all-rounder Nadine de Klerk.
Pakistan’s finisher from the T20I series Aliya Riaz joined Muneeba Ali at the crease and the duo found their way to a 20-run partnership for the fifth wicket before the left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba dismissed Muneeba Ali to provide a timely breakthrough for South Africa. Wicket-keeper batter Sidra Nawaz joined Aliya Riyaz at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 42-run partnership for the sixth wicket to bring some sort of stability to their innings.
Eventually, the left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba ended the wicket-keeper batter Sidra Nawaz’s stay at the crease. They went on to lose another couple of wickets in quick succession. However, the ninth-wicket partnership between Diana Baig and Aliya Riyaz attempted to delay the inevitable with a 31-run partnership for the 9th wicket.
🚨 MASSIVE 127 RUNS VICTORY 🚨
• Sune Luus: 107* (129)
• Marizanne Kapp: 100 (105)
• Nadine de Klerk: 3 wickets
• Nonkululeko Mlaba: 3 wicketsSouth Africa take 1-0 series lead in the ODIs. #CricketTwitter #PAKvSA pic.twitter.com/r8ZC7VIVBG
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) September 8, 2023
The home side were eventually bundled out for a 165 in the 37th over, handing a massive 127-run victory to the visitors in the first ODI. Aliya Riaz (49 off 58 balls) was the top run-scorer with the bat for Pakistan. While the left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba (3/39) and the 23-year-old all-rounder Nadine de Klerk (3/23) were the pick of the bowlers for South Africa. Marizanne Kapp (100 off 105 balls) was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant performance with the bat in the first ODI.