South Africa cruised to a dominant 10-wicket victory over the West Indies, starting their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with an emphatic performance on Friday.
After being asked to bat first, West Indies managed 118 for six, largely thanks to Stafanie Taylor’s resilient unbeaten 44 off 41 balls. Without her contribution, their total could have been much lower.
South Africa’s left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba delivered her best career figures of 4/29, while Marizanne Kapp supported with 2/14.
In response, South Africa chased down the target with 13 balls to spare. Skipper Laura Wolvaardt scored 59 off 55 balls, and Tazmin Brits contributed 57 off 52, securing an easy win for last edition’s runners-up. Earlier, Brits had also taken a brilliant catch at cover point.
South Africa’s bowlers set the tone by maintaining tight lines, putting West Indies on the back foot early. The first breakthrough came when Marizanne Kapp had Hayley Matthews (10 off 11 balls) caught behind.
Qiana Joseph’s slow innings ended when she was bowled by Mlaba in the fifth over. West Indies then slipped to 32/3 after Kapp removed Deandra Dottin (13 off 11 balls), and they couldn’t post a competitive total from there.
Leave a Reply