The South Africa u19s end their tournament with a humdinger in Potchefstroom by a 1-run victory over Sri Lanka.

Player of the Match Kayla Reyneke starred with the bat once again with a brilliant knock of 43 and then continued on to pick up 2-16 in 4 overs.

The SA girls took to the field today with a massive weight on their shoulders of needing to amass a total of 200+ to be able to restrict their opponents to under 60 to improve their NRR and advance through to the semi-finals, that being said they needed to bat first as well.

One thing ticked off on their “what is required to advance list” after they won the toss and chose to bat first. Sri Lanka restricted them to 134-7 as Kayla Reyneke yet again put in a great performance with the bat and top-scored with 43.

Jemma Evans was the next best with the bat with 22. Sri Lanka was sharp in the field and the double strike by Dewmi Vihanga in the fourth over derailed their innings to some extent.

Sri Lanka fought well and was right in this match until the very end. At 107 for 3, the game was in the balance and they looked set to get over the line. Kayla Reyneke’s 18th over went for just 4 runs and a wicket but even so with just two overs remaining they were 112 for 4 and edging closer to victory.

Two wickets in the penultimate over meant the match was far from done and SA was not giving up at all. 12 was required in the last over and Miane Smit was entrusted with the ball. It went down to the wire with her conceding 5 runs from the first three balls. A run out on the fourth ball and a stumping off the fifth meant Sri Lanka needed 6 from the last ball and then a boundary to seal the deal as SA end unbeaten in the Super Six phase.

Bitter-sweet ending for the hosts but they can hold their heads high despite crashing out in the super six stages. The skipper reiterated her love for her side while player of the match Kayla Reyneke echoed that she’s going to miss the girls so much.