South Africa’s juggernaut rolled on in the ICC Women’s World Cup as they crushed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in a rain-marred contest in Colombo on Friday.
In a game reduced to 20 overs, the Proteas first tied down Sri Lanka to 105-7 and then chased a revised target of 121 in 14.5 overs, tightening their grip on second place in the points table.
The win pushed South Africa to eight points, just one behind defending champions Australia, who have nine. England, the four-time winners, are third on seven points but with a game in hand over South Africa.
Colombo’s fickle weather, which has already drowned out three fixtures, again played spoilsport. Having opted to bat, Sri Lanka were 46-2 when the heavens opened. Once the skies cleared, umpires chopped the contest to 20 overs per side.
“We just took it like a T20 game and didn’t want to leave it till the end,” skipper Laura Wolvaardt said. “Pretty tricky with all the rain delays, but in the end it worked well for us.”
Wolvaardt led from the front with a sparkling unbeaten 60 off 47 deliveries, while left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba’s tidy spell of 3-30 applied the brakes after the rain break.
The South African bowlers tightened the screws, conceding just 59 runs in the last eight overs while picking up five wickets.
Vishmi Gunaratne’s breezy 34 with six boundaries was the lone bright spark for Sri Lanka.
Chasing at six an over, South Africa’s openers made light work of the target, batting with the composure of a side high on confidence.
Wolvaardt’s half-century was her second of the tournament, while Tazmin Brits rediscovered her touch with an unbeaten 55 from 42 balls, peppered with four fours and two towering sixes, the last of which over mid-wicket sealed the game in style.
Their unbroken 125-run stand came off just 89 deliveries.
For a side bowled out for 69 in their opening game by England, South Africa’s turnaround has been remarkable, with four wins on the trot, including a gritty one over India.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, remain winless after five outings in a campaign plagued by rain and inconsistency.
Returning to the global stage after missing the 2022 edition, Chamari Athapaththu’s side have had little luck, with two of their games washed away.
“It’s been a frustrating campaign with so much rain,” Athapaththu lamented. “Our spinners struggled to grip the ball today, but we have two games left and want to finish on a high.”
