South Africa women kick off T20 World Cup with easy win over Sri Lanka
Reuters: Trisha Chetty spent a productive day on either side of the stumps as South Africa kicked off their women’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign with a comfortable six-wicket victory over hosts Sri Lanka in a Group B match on Wednesday.
South Africa captain Mignon du Preez put Sri Lanka in after winning the toss and had every reason to feel vindicated as the home side slumped to 34 for six wickets inside 12 overs. Pace bowler Susan Benade (2-7) and leg-spinner Dane van Neikerk (2-9) wrecked the Sri Lankan top order before South Africa’s sharp fielding was rewarded with five runs outs as Sri Lanka were dismissed for just 79 runs in 20 overs.
Only two Sri Lankans – Dilani Manodara (24) and Chamani Seneviratna (14) – reached double figures in the match played at the Galle International Stadium. Wicket-keeper Chetty was involved in six of the dismissals, including four runs outs, one catch and a stumping.
She returned to hit a 40-ball 33 as South Africa chased down the target in 17.2 overs, losing four wickets in the process. South Africa play New Zealand in their next pool match on Friday at Galle while Sri Lanka play West Indies in the double-header on the same day.
Group A is made up of Australia, England, India and Pakistan in the eight-team tournament being played in conjunction with the men’s World Twenty20 tournament, also in Sri Lanka.
Lankan Captain disappointed
Sri Lanka capitulated easily against a superior South African team in its first outing at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in Galle. It was the fifth time in as many matches that the team failed to cross 100, and it raised concerns about the batting quality.
“I’m very disappointed to say the least,” said Shashikala Siriwardena, the captain. “We need someone to bat through the innings, but that just doesn’t seem to be happening. Chamari Atapattu is our batting mainstay, and when she doesn’t score runs, we don’t perform. We can’t depend on just one or two individuals.”
Siriwardena also hinted that the abject batting would force them to bolster it in its next game against West Indies on Friday. “We definitely need to strengthen the batting,” she said. “Under the conditions, I think 110-120 should be a good score, and for that we have to build an innings.”
Sri Lanka has just one day to overcome this disappointing loss. Given the magnitude of defeat, its net run-rate has taken a hit, but Siriwardena believes it is important to keep things simple and focus on the basics in the remaining two matches. “We need to find a way to win the other two games, we can’t focus too much on the external aspects,” she said.
Although the batting has failed to put up defendable totals, the bowling has been the bright spot. Sri Lanka picked up six wickets while defending 78 against Pakistan in the warm-up game last week. Even today, the South African team was made to work hard, despite getting off to a blistering start.
“I’m proud of the way the bowlers and fielders have responded,” said Siriwardena. “I have complete faith in them. It is heartening to see the fight we’re showing on the field. If we put some runs on the board, we can pose a challenge.”
