Birmingham, Aug 4 (Ajit Weekly News) Putting on a dominant display in their final Group B match at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, South Africa Women thrashed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets to register their first victory at the event, here on Thursday.
Before beating Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka had lost to New Zealand and England in their first two matches at CWG 2022.
After winning the toss and opting to field first, South Africa had a dream start with the ball as Shabnim Ismail struck off the very first ball to dismiss Hasini Perera.
Masabata Klaas got in on the act the very next over, angling the ball away from the left-hander Harshitha Samarawickrama with Sinalo Jafta completing her second catch of the match.
Nadine de Klerk bowled a splendid double-wicket maiden off the last over of the Powerplay, removing Anushka Sanjeewani and Nilakshi de Silva at either side of the over. Kavisha Dilhari had her stumps uprooted by a gem of a delivery from de Klerk as Sri Lanka lost half their side for just 18.
Chamari Athapaththu’s 29-ball stay at the crease finally came to an end, courtesy of a brilliant return catch from Masabata Klaas. Bar a couple of fours from Malsha Shehani, the Sri Lankan lower-order did not contribute much as they were bowled out for 46, their lowest-ever score in T20Is.
Set a merge target of 47, South Africa made light work of the chase as they needed a little over six overs to complete the win. The Sri Lanka bowlers were awry in the lines, giving away easy boundaries for the Proteas openers Anneke Bosch (20 not out off 16) and Tazmin Brits (21 not out off 21).
Brits finished the game off in style with a four, handing South Africa their first win at the Commonwealth Games by 10 wickets in 6.1 overs.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 46 in 17.1 overs (Athapaththu 15, de Klerk 3-7) lost to South Africa 49-0 in 6.1 overs (Brits 21 not out, Bosch 20 not out) by 10 wickets
–Ajit Weekly News
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