ODI Series Decider Ahead After Proteas Loss

Sri Lanka women made good use of their home ground advantage after their last match was rained out, beating the Momentum Proteas by four wickets in the third women’s One-Day International at SSC Cricket Ground in Colombo on Sunday.

(Click here to read the Cricinfo.com scorecard)

(Click here to read the ICC-Cricket.com match report, with a focus on how tour results impact the Proteas’ position in the ICC Women’s Championship 2014 – 2016)

The hosts won the toss and elected to field, restricting South Africa to 127/7 in a match that was reduced to 27 overs a side. Captain, Mignon du Preez was the leading run scorer with 34 off 44 balls, followed by Marizanne Kapp (29) and Trisha Chetty (26).

Sri Lanka’s Ama Kanchana caused the most damage, taking three wickets for 26 in three overs, while Inoka Ranaweera returned with 2/23 in five.

Captain, Chamari Atapattu set up her side’s victory with 63 runs off 71 balls in their reply, making it that much easier for her teammates to chase down the score after her demise at the hands of Shabim Ismail, who did well to return with three wickets of her own for 34, with Marizanne Kapp returning with 2/25.

The fourth and final match, taking place on Tuesday, 21 October, will be a good contest between the well-matched sides, with a series win at stake.

Photo 1 caption: Sri Lanka celebrate a wicket on their way to beating South Africa by four wickets to draw level 1 match each, setting up a series decider in the fourth and final ODI in Colombo on Wednesday. Photo: Supplied

(With editing by gsport)