Bengaluru: Sri Lanka’s bowlers finally came to the party as they completely turned the tables on a cruising South Africa side to finish their Women’s World Twenty20 campaign on a winning note. After being restricted to just 114/7, the Lankans put up a solid show on the field to notch up an 10-run victory.
The opening duo of Dane van Niekerk and Trisha Chetty gave the Proteas a strong start scoring 50 up front off just 55 balls. Niekerk was well settled but was run out by Chamari Atapattu. Following Niekerk’s dismissal, South Africa suffered a collapse as Mignon du Preez (0) was dismissed in the same over and Chetty (26) following suit in the next.
From there on the Lankan bowlers took the game away. Sugandika Kumari and Udeshika Prabodhani were the pick of the bowlers for the Lankans.
Earlier, after electing to bat Lanka skipper Atapattu put up yet another stellar display with the willow to anchor the innings. Atapattu, who was named player of the match, made it a memorable day, scoring her first T20 international 50. Capping her maiden half-century and topping it with a win, Atapattu said, “I have scored 49, 48 on several occasions but to score my first fifty and that too in the World Cup makes it very special.”
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 114/7 in 20 overs (C. Atapattu 52, P. Weerakkody 15, M. Kapp, 2/27, S. Luus 2/20) bt South Africa 104/7 in 20 overs (D. van Niekerk 24, T. Chetty 26, S. Kumari 2/24, U. Prabodhani 2/13)
