Rising star Vishmi Gunaratne’s maiden half-century (65* off 57 balls) in T20 internationals anchored a crucial run chase, propelling Sri Lanka to a seven-wicket victory over South Africa in the second T20 International in Potchefstroom, on Saturday, 30 March, 2024.
Gunaratne’s composed innings, especially after the early loss of star batter Chamari Athapaththu, showed her ability to handle pressure at the highest level.
The 18 year-old right-hand bat’s fourth wicket stand of 76* from 46 balls with Kavisha Dilhari powered Sri Lanka to chase down 138 with seven wickets in hand, and seven balls to spare, levelling the series with one game remaining.
Earlier, news was that South Africa would miss their captain Laura Wolvaardt, who scored a century in the previous match, and that Nadine de Klerk would be wearing the captain’s airband.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, and despite the early loss of batting dynamo Tazmin Brits in the third over, SA were off to a strong start from Anneke Bosch and Marizanne Kapp (44 off 36 balls), with the Proteas Women bringing up their 50 in the seventh over.
But the tide turned when Bosch’s wicket fell just after she scored her fourth T20I half-century in the 10th over, and with it, South Africa faltered, collapsing from 99/3 to 118/7, eventually posting 137/8.
The match wasn’t kind for career milestones, with Nadine de Klerk wearing the captain’s armband for her 50th cap, while – earning her maiden cap as the fourth-youngest South African to do so – Karabo Meso didn’t have the best of starts when she was bowled by Chamari Athapaththu for no runs, off her second ball at the crease.
“We started off with the bat quite well, but then lost it a bit to the last ten overs. We lost a couple of quick wickets with new batters at the crease, so we couldn’t really fire in the last couple of overs the way we would want to.”
Proteas Women batter, Anneke Bosch
Dilhari’s all round effort of 45* from 28 balls and 1/22 earned her Player of the Match, and Sri Lanka’s successful chase sets up an exciting finale on 3 April in East London, with the series now tied at 1-1.
Proteas Women Starting X1 for the 2nd T20 against Sri Lanka
Anneke Bosch
Tazmin Brits
Marizanne Kapp
Suné Luus
Chloé Tryon
Nadine de Klerk (c)
Annerie Dercksen
Karabo Meso
Nonkululeko Mlaba
Masabata Klaas
Tumi Sekhukhune
The Sri Lanka Starting X1
Vishmi Gunaratne
Chamari Athapaththu
Harshitha Samarawickrama
Hasini Perera
Kavisha Dilhari
Nilakshika Silva
Anushka Sanjeewani
Inoka Ranaweera]
Inoshi Priyadharshani
Achini Kulasuriya
Udeshika Prabodhani
Fixtures and Results – South Africa Inbound Tour vs Sri Lanka 2023/24
T20 International Series
Wed 27 Mar, 18h00: 1st T20I – South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 79 runs
Sat 30 Mar, 14h00: 2nd T20I – South Africa lost to Sri Lanka by 7 wickets (7 balls rem.)
Wed 3 Apr, 18h00: 3rd T20I – South Africa vs Sri Lanka (Buffalo Park, East London)
50-over Warm-Up Match
Sat 6 Apr, 10h00: South Africa XI vs Sri Lanka XI (Buffalo Park, East London)
One-Day International Series – ICC Women’s Championship
Tue 9 Apr, 14h00: 1st ODI – South Africa vs Sri Lanka (Buffalo Park, East London)
Sat 13 Apr, 14h00: 2nd ODI – South Africa vs Sri Lanka (Diamond Oval, Kimberley)
Wed 17 Apr, 14h00: 3rd ODI – South Africa vs Sri Lanka (JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom)
Main Photo Caption: Sri Lanka wins the second T20 International to level the series against South Africa at JB Marks on March 30, 2024 in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
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