At Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide, it was a good game of cricket as Australia took on South Africa in the practice match on Tuesday. Winning the toss and electing to field first, the Aussies restricted the Proteas to 147-6 in 20 overs.
Riding on skipper Dane van Niekerk’s fluent innings of 62 (51) that was powered by seven smooth hits to the fence and three ferocious ones over it, South Africa managed to put up a competitive score on board. Opening bat Lizelle Lee (29) and Marizanne Kapp (22) made a handful of contributions to the score. For Aussies, it was Delissa Kimmince who was the leading wicket-taker with 2-34 in her four overs. Though Kimmince went for eight and a half runs per over, she ensured that she struck at the right time to keep her team in the hunt.
In reply, Australia chased down the target in 19.3 overs winning the match by four wickets. Alyssa Healy’s (9) form with the bat continues to put the Aussies in the spot of bother. In a rare failure, Beth Mooney (10) was also sent packing at the start of the third overs, courtesy Kapp. It was skipper Meg Lanning who decided to take the onus and shouldered the responsibility to see her team through. Lanning muscled a power-packed 47 (36) that was embellished with seven boundaries. Later, her deputy Rachel Haynes joined the party as she struck a delightful 39 (35). Though Marizanne Kapp wreaked havoc with her 4-16 in four overs, she could not findable allies to tame the mighty Australians.
Despite ending on a losing side, the Proteas would have learned a lot and would look to work on their lacunae going into the World T20.
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