Skipper Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp hit top gear to leave Sri Lanka clueless as South Africa went 1-0 up in the T20I series.
The South African women’s team led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt is currently hosting Sri Lanka led by skipper Chamari Athapaththu for a white-ball series that includes a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series that will conclude on the 17th April 2024.
The Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, the South African openers got off to a flying start scoring over 11 runs an over before Inoshi Priyadharshani Fernando picked up the wicket of Tazmin Brits to provide the first breakthrough for Sri Lanka. Marizanne Kapp joined South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt at the crease and the duo stitched a massive 116-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Achini Kulasuriya picked up the wicket of Marizanne Kapp to provide the much-needed breakthrough for Sri Lanka.
It was the 2nd highest 2nd wicket partnership for South Africa in the T20I format, surpassing the 103-run stand between Lizelle Lee and Sune Luus, Vs England, at Taunton on 23rd June 2018. Sune Luus joined skipper Laura Wolvaardt at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 40-run partnership for the third wicket before Sune Luus was found short of her crease to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Sri Lanka.
South Africa eventually ended up with a total of 198/5 in their quota of overs. It was their second-highest total in the T20I format. Skipper Laura Wolvaardt (102 off 63 balls) notched up her maiden century in the T20I format and, Marizanne Kapp (60 off 40 balls) were the top performers with the bat for South Africa. Achini Kulasuriya (4-0-39-2), and Inoshi Priyadharshani Fernando (3-0-25-1) were the top performers with the ball for Sri Lanka.
Chasing a massive target of 199, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start, losing both their openers, including the wicket of their skipper Chamari Athapaththu, inside the first four overs of the run chase. Hasini Perera joined Harshitha Samarawickrama at the crease, and the duo stitched a crucial 44-run partnership for the 3rd wicket before Nadine de Klerk picked up the wicket of Hasini Perera to provide the 3rd breakthrough for South Africa.
Sri Lanka kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and as a result, they were bundled out for 119 with 10 balls to spare, following short of the target by 79 runs. Harshitha Samarawickrama (38 off 33 balls), and Hasini Perera (30 off 18 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Sri Lanka. Annerie Dercksen (3.2-0-15-2), Tumi Sekhukhune (3-0-25-2), and Chloe Tryon (3-0-18-1) were the top performers with the ball for South Africa.
Skipper Laura Wolvaardt was awarded the Player of the Match for her exceptional performance (102 off 63 balls) with the bat, helping South Africa take a 1-0 lead in a three-match T20I series. The 2nd T20I of the series will be played on 30th March 2024 at Potchefstroom from 9:30 PM IST.
