Proteas Women wrap up Cricket World Cup preparations with comfortable Pakistan win

The Proteas Women put the finishing touches to their World Cup preparations with a four-wicket win over Pakistan in Sunday’s ODI at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, a victory built on strong all-round performances by the South Africans.

Pakistan managed to score 229/9 off 46 overs after choosing to bat first. South Africa replied with 233/6 in the 41st over, surviving an early batting wobble as skipper Laura Wolvaardt, Tazmin Brits, and Marizanne Kapp all fell cheaply.

Pakistan were 87/2 after 20 overs in their innings. Medium-pace spearhead Ayabonga Khaka claimed the first wicket, that of opener Muneeba Ali. Fellow seamer Nadine de Klerk then dismissed Omaima Sohail, before Sidra Amin and Sidra Nawaz steadied the ship for Pakistan.

The Proteas struck two quick blows, with Annerie Dercksen removing Nawaz for 35 and Chloe Tryon accounting for Natalia Pervaiz, while Amin retired. Pakistan were 143/4 in the 31st over and only reached 229/9 in the 46th over, thanks largely to skipper Fatima Sana’s top score of 64. Seamer Masebata Klaas claimed the prized scalp of the Pakistan captain before wrapping up the innings with the wicket of Shawaal Zulfiqar.

Tryon and De Klerk used their experience to navigate the next few overs without further mishaps. South Africa reached 159/5 after 30 overs, still requiring 71 runs to win. When Tryon smashed three fours in a row off the bowling of Dianna Biag in the 35th over, South Africa’s score surged to 205/5, and the match was effectively over as a contest.

The fall of De Klerk’s wicket for 22 did little to dampen the mood, as Tryon ended unbeaten on 40. The Proteas will be pleased to have secured a full match after their earlier warmup against Bangladesh was curtailed by inclement weather. This outing gave them valuable opportunities to test combinations and find form ahead of the showpiece.

Their first match at the Women’s World Cup, hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is against England at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, India, on Friday.

Khaka was the only other Proteas bowler to claim two wickets, though her economy rate of 8.0 was high. De Klerk and Tryon were miserly by comparison — the former conceding 16 runs off her five overs, and the latter going for just 13. The other stalwarts each claimed a wicket apiece.

The Proteas began their run chase in calamitous fashion, losing the wickets of batting stalwarts Wolvaardt (7) and Brits (5) in the first three overs, with Kapp departing soon afterwards. No 3 batter Sune Luus and Anneke Bosch then began to rebuild the innings, with Bosch taking the lead as the aggressor.

They took the score to 101/3 after 20 overs, with the required run rate at 4.34. Bosch was scoring at a run-a-ball, hitting seven fours and one six, as she closed in on her half-century.

South Africa needed 124 runs to win with their score at 106/3 when rain stopped play in the 21st over. After the resumption, the batting duo pushed on, with Bosch bringing up her 50 with a boundary off Omaima Sohail in the 23rd over.

A few overs later, their crucial partnership breached the 100-run mark. Luus also reached her half-century with back-to-back boundaries off Syeda Aroob Shah. Both batters retired soon afterwards, but replacements Karabo Meso and Dercksen failed to last long.