A fifth career century from Laura Wolvaardt and a brisk half-century from Marizanne Kapp helped the Proteas Women take a 1-nil ICC Women’s Championship ODI series lead over Sri Lanka with a commanding seven-wicket triumph in Kimberley on Saturday, 13 April, 2024.
In a record chase at the Kimberley Oval, Wolvaardt led the way with an unbeaten 110 * off 141 balls (6 fours) alongside Kapp’s 84-ball 80* (7 fours) as South Africa successfully hunted down Sri Lanka’s total of 229 all out featuring 51 off 69 runs (9 fours) from Chamari Athapaththu.
After winning the toss for the first time in 12 attempts and electing to bowl, South Africa made a strong start with ball in hand as Ayabonga Khaka (3/28) secured an early breakthrough to pick up the wicket of Vishmi Gunaratne (7) after Masabata Klaas took a composed catch at deep fine leg.
With the Proteas bowlers hitting their marks early on, Sri Lanka was restricted to 27/1 in the power-play before captain Athapaththu found her rhythm with the bat to help push the visitors to 62/1 after 15 overs.
Alongside Hasini Perera (15), Athapaththu anchored the 58-run partnership for the second wicket before Nadine de Klerk (3/23) broke the deadlock to remove Perera – caught by Delmi Tucker – and leave the Sri Lankans 73/2 in the 18th over.
Despite losing her batting partners, Athapaththu marched on to her 16th half-century in her 100th ODI appearance for her country before the explosive batter became de Klerk’s second victim of the afternoon to depart for 51 to see Sri Lanka 93/3 at the halfway stage of the innings.
New batters Hansima Karunaratne and Kaveesha Dilhari (42) then went about the rebuild in a measured fashion to propel Sri Lanka to three figures in the 27th over before taking the score to 120/3 with 20 overs remaining.
With Dilhari leading the charge at the crease, the two Sri Lankan middle-order batters added a crucial half-century stand for the fourth wicket to help bring up the tourist’s 150 in the 35th over.
Soon after, Khaka picked up the all-important scalp of Karunaratne for 33 off 60 balls with Klaas taking her second catch of the day before Nonkululeko Mlaba (2/40) picked up two wickets in two deliveries to get rid of the dangerous Dilhari and Anushka Sanjeewani (0) and leave the visitors 178/6 after 39 overs.
With two new batters at the crease in Nilakshika Silva (36) and Oshadi Ranasinghe (20), the pair added a vital 41 runs for the seventh wicket before Klaas (1/50) secured her solitary wicket of the encounter to end the partnership with Sri Lanka on 214/7 after 47 overs.
With three overs remaining, the South African bowlers did well to restrict the subcontinent outfit’s lower-order as Eliz-Mari Marx (1/38), de Klerk and Khaka picked up the final three wickets to wrap up the Sri Lankan innings on 229 all out with a ball to spare.
In reply, the Proteas Women experienced a stuttering start to the innings with the bat as Sri Lanka removed two of the three top-order batters, including the returning Lara Goodall (7) and Tucker (2), in the power-play to leave the home side 43/2 after 10 overs.
In a crucial 59-run, third-wicket stand for South Africa, the pair of Wolvaardt and Suné Luus (21) helped build the innings to take the home side near the 100-run mark before Luus was clean bowled by Inoka Ranaweera (1/45) to see the Proteas reach 86/3 after 20 overs, still needing 144 runs to win.
With Marizanne Kapp joining the in-form Wolvaardt at the crease, the duo combined in devastating fashion with Kapp at the helm with an aggressive display, adding a half-century stand with Wolvaardt reaching another ODI fifty as South Africa advanced to 145/3 after 30 overs.
Despite a brief stoppage in play due to lightning, the experienced pair continued to dominate at the crease to reach a 100-run partnership as Kapp raised her bat for a 14th career half-century to see South Africa to 188/3 after 40 overs.
Requiring 42 runs off the remaining 10 overs, Wolvaardt soon completed her fifth career hundred before becoming the leading run-scorer for the Proteas Women in ODI cricket prior to Wolvaardt and Kapp securing the winning runs with 14 balls remaining.
The series-ending final ODI takes place on Wednesday, 17 April at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom, with play starting at 14h00.
Fixtures and Results – South Africa Inbound Tour vs Sri Lanka 2023/24
T20 International Series
Wed 27 Mar: 1st T20I – South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 79 runs
Sat 30 Mar: 2nd T20I – South Africa lost to Sri Lanka by 7 wickets (7 balls rem.)
Wed 3 Apr: 3rd T20I – South Africa lost Sri Lanka by 4 wickets (5 balls rem.)
One-Day International Series – ICC Women’s Championship
Tue 9 Apr: 1st ODI – Match Drawn (Buffalo Park, East London)
Sat 13 Apr: 2nd ODI – South Africa beat Sri Lanka (Diamond Oval, Kimberley)
Wed 17 Apr, 14h00: 3rd ODI – South Africa vs Sri Lanka (JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom)
Proteas Women Playing XI
Laura Wolvaardt (Captain)
Lara Goodall
Delmi Tucker
Suné Luus
Marizanne Kapp
Nadine de Klerk
Eliz-Mari Marx
Sinalo Jafta (WK)
Ayabonga Khaka
Masabata Klaas
Nonkululeko Mlaba
The Sri Lanka Playing XI
Vishmi Gunaratne
Chamari Athapaththu (Captain)
Hasini Perera
Hansima Karunaratne
Kavisha Dilhari
Nilakshi de Silva
Anushka Sanjeewani (WK)
Oshadi Ranasinghe
Kawya Kavindi
Achini Kulasuriya
Inoka Ranaweera
Original Copy: Cricket South Africa, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Proteas Women captain Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp did the major damage as South Africa mounted a record chase to win the second ODI against Sri Lanka by a commanding seven-wicket margin in Kimberley on Saturday, 13 April, 2024. Photo: CSA
Photo 2 Caption: Pictured alongside visiting skipper Chamari Athapaththu, Wolvaardt has lead SA to a 1-nil ODI series lead over Sri Lanka, with one match remaining. Photo: CSA
Photo 3 Caption: Wolvaardt looked to be performing at her peak, leading the way with an unbeaten 110 * off 141 balls in an innings featuring six boundaries. Photo: CSA
Photo 4 Caption: After the teams shared a point each from Tuesday’s washed out first tie in East London, the Proteas will look to finish the tour securing maximum ICC ODI Championship points in the final fixture at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. Photo: CSA
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