Debutant and Player of the Match, Ayanda Hlubi and captain Laura Wolvaardt inspired the Proteas Women to an incredible 8-wicket victory against Bangladesh in the third and final T20I in Kimberley on Friday, 9 December, 2023.
Photo: Cricket South Africa
These two stand-out match performances ensured that South Africa have levelled the series 1-all, to share the spoils. Bangladesh had started the series with an eye-opening win in the opening encounter at Willowmoore Park in Benoni before the rained-out second tie in Kimberley, and hosts South Africa worked hard to do deny the visitors an upset away tour win at the Kimberley Oval on Friday evening.
The Proteas won the toss and elected to bowl first on a scorcher of an afternoon in Kimberley, allowing debutant opening bowler 19-year-old Hlubi the most sensational of starts when she claimed the wickets of Murshida Khatun 2 (7) and Sobhana Mostary 0 (1) off consecutive balls, in her first over of international cricket.
Masabata Klaas then secured the third wicket of Shamima Sultana 8 (13) to leave the visitors on an under-par 19/3 after the powerplay. The Proteas squad made good on their game plan, with their sensational end-to-end bowling on the day.
Lata Mondal played a hard-fought 42 (62) before she was bowled by Klaas, before Nigar Sultana Joty 11 (20) and Shorna Akter’s cameo of 23 (16) saw the visitors to a total of 94/6 in their allotted overs.
Hlubi finished with incredible figures for a bowler on debut 2/15, and Klaas and Delmi Tucker put in solid contributions of 2/23 and 1/18 respectively as the Proteas restricted the subcontinent nation.
Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits put on a positive 35-run opening partnership before Brits 17 (13) was trapped lbw by Marufa Akter. Requiring a further 60-runs for victory, Anneke Bosch joined Wolvaardt in the middle, but Bangladesh hit back quickly, getting rid of the dangerous Bosch for 9 off 10 balls with the bowling of Shorifa Khatun.
A selfless captain’s knock from Wolvaardt 49* (49) and Sune Luus 15* (22) ensure the tour hosts suffered no further hiccups as they put an unbeaten partnership of 43-runs, helping South Africa level the three-match series in the 15th over.
16-year-old Shorna Akter was awarded the Player of the Series for her 5-wickets in the three matches.
The white ball tour continues in the One-Day International series between 16-23 December as part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-2025 qualification.
Proteas Women T20I Squad vs Bangladesh
Laura Wolvaardt
Anneke Bosch
Tazmin Brits
Annerie Dercksen
Mieke de Ridder
Lara Goodall
*Ayanda Hlubi
Sinalo Jafta
Masabata Klaas
Suné Luus
*Eliz-Mari Marx
Nonkululeko Mlaba
Tumi Sekhukhune
Nondumiso Shangase
Delmi Tucker
South Africa Inbound Tour vs Bangladesh 2023/24
T20 International Series – ICC Women’s Championship:
Sun 3 Dec: 1st T20I – South Africa lose to Bangladesh by 13 runs
Wed 6 Dec: 2nd T20I – No Result (Rained out)
Fri 8 Dec: 3rd T20I – South Africa beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets
50-over Warm-Up Match:
Tue 12 Dec (10h00) – SA Emerging vs Bangladesh XI (Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein)
One-Day International Series – ICC Women’s Championship:
Sat 16 Dec (14h00): 1st ODI – South Africa vs Bangladesh (Buffalo Park, East London)
Wed 20 Dec (14h00): 2nd ODI – South Africa vs Bangladesh (JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom)
Sat 23 Dec (14h00): 3rd ODI – South Africa vs Bangladesh (Willowmoore Park, Benoni)
* All times CAT
Main Photo Caption: Tour hosts South Africa and visitors Bangladesh Women smile with their shared T20 International series trophy, at the Kimberley Oval in the Northern Cape on Friday, 8 December, 2023. Photo: Cricket SA
Photo 2 Caption: Teenage opening bowler and international debutant Ayana Hlubi in her opening over to remove Bangladesh top-order batters off consecutive balls, and winning the match’s Player of the Match accolade for her figures of 2/15 on debut. Photo: Cricket SA
Photo 3 Caption: Back on home soil after defending their WBBL title with the Adelaide Strikers in Australia, Proteas Women skipper Laura Wolvaardt unselfishly ended her match-winning innings on 49* off 49 balls to lead the home side to a share of the T20 International series spoils with visitors Bangladesh. Photo: Cricket SA
(0 rating, 0 votes, rated)
Loading...
