No Monday blues as South Africa’s bowlers put in a dominant performance to demolish New Zealand to stay alive in the tournament.
Marizanne Kapp tweeted “South Africa, you deserve better” after their narrow defeat against Sri Lanka on Friday, and they delivered in front of the enthusiastic Boland faithful as they bounced back in emphatic fashion defending 132.
It was an inspired bowling performance as Nonkululeko Mlaba led the way with her best figures of 3-10 and Chloe Tryon put in an all-round performance with 40 (34) and 2-12.
Player of the Match, Chloe Tryon at the post-match presentation said, “After the first game, we knew what needed to come. It was do-or-die. But we just needed to go back to the basics. I just think we really wanted it really badly.
“We wanted it as a group and you could see the smiles on our faces. With the bat, I thought we were 15 or 20 runs short but we had a job with the ball and I think everyone did superbly with the ball. It’s nice to challenge myself and I’m just happy I got some key wickets today.”
The pressure mounted on the hosts as every game from here on out is a must-win for them, in hopes of exiting their group. Another brittle batting performance as they struggle on their way to 132 for 6 on what seemed like a typical sluggish kind of Paarl wicket.
The Momentum Proteas opted to bat first. The team got off to a terrible start as they lost two wickets off the first three overs but despite that Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus steadied the ship and consolidated the innings in a 33-run partnership as SA finished off the powerplay decently on 44 for 2.
Just as the momentum was shifting, the skipper impetuously called for a run that was never there and gets needlessly run out in the process as Wolvaardt was completely unaware of where the ball went.
Luus and run-outs are a never-ending love affair.
SA kept losing wickets and found themselves in even deeper trouble on 55 for 4 and apart from the wickets column not looking pretty, at the halfway stage, they were well set on 62 for 4. A lovely sixth wicket 47-run partnership between Chloe Tryon who top scored with a 34-ball 40 which included 6 fours and Nadine de Klerk who was the second best with 28, and Luus scored 22.
With a slightly meagre total on the board, early wickets were vital but New Zealand completely capitulated as their openers who are yet to score a single run fail once again.
Mlaba got SA off to a dream start as she struck off just her second ball while Jafta did the rest with some sharp glove work. Bernadine Bezuidenhout left her crease and did not get her foot down in time.
Wickets kept tumbling as Mlaba picked up her second and Kapp struck in the first over to have NZ reeling on 13 for 3 in the fourth over. Amelia Kerr chased a wide one and the entire SA team was animated as they went up for the review. They were down a 4th wicket for only 18 runs.
NZ was in complete disarray at the halfway stage on 34-5 as the Protea bowlers kept breathing down their necks. They slumped to 67 all out. That’s their lowest total in Women’s T20 World Cups.
Sinalo Jafta had a great game behind the stumps, taking three catches and a stumping.
South Africa won by 65 runs and their NRR gets a deserved boost as well as their semi-final hopes are very much alive.
