Match 1, Cape Town, February 10, 2023, 10:30 PM
129/4(20.0ov)
126/9(20.0ov)
Sri Lanka Women beat South Africa Women by 3 runs
We are up and running in the World Cup! On 11th February, we have two games lined up but first, it will be West Indies Women vs England Women. Do join us at 1830 IST (1300 GMT) for all the action and early for the build up. Till then, cheers!
Sune Luus starts by thanking the crowd to turn up. Applauds the performance of Chamari Athapaththu. Adds it was a par score and feels one game doesn't define their team. Ends by saying there are lots of positives to take from the game.
Chamari Athapaththu wins the Player of the Match! She says she tried her best and wanted to lead her team. Adds it is a team performance and applauds the performance of the bowler. Reckons Vishmi Gunaratne is a superstar. Tells she tries to play her natural game. Feels 140-150 was a par score. Adds the aim is to reach the semi finals. This is her 8th World Cup and hopes to go long way.
...Presentation time....
Sri Lanka Women have shown they are not here just to mess around. First with the bat, Chamari Athapaththu and Vishmi Gunaratne shined and put on a decent score and then the bowlers continued the good work. They came mostly with spinners and everyone made an impact but Inoka Ranaweera was the star with three big wickets. South Africa Women are shell-shocked. They can't belief what happened but this just happened. Sri Lanka Women have registered a famous win.
At first, it looked like Sri Lanka Women were 10-15 runs short but the bowlers stepped up big time. What a bowling performance. Against the mighty South Africa Women they stuck to the planks and rattled them away. South Africa Women though forced things too much. It could have been a well-directed chase but few soft-dismissals didn't help them. Everyone got a start but gave away their wicket. Sune Luus and Jafta gave hope but it didn't last long. Only if someone would have stuck around till the end...
What a match! What a win for Sri Lanka! The World Cup is here with a bang and we have an upset on the very first day! The hosts are shoved away by Sri Lanka. Who saw this coming? Well, that is World Cup for you.
In over# 20
4
0
1
1
1W
2
Sugandika Kumari 28/2(4)
19.6
4
FOUR! A famous win for Sri Lanka! THEY WIN BY 3 RUNS! Full and on off, this is lofted over mid off for four.
19.5
.
That will do for Sri Lanka! Very full, outside off, Mlaba mistimes her push on the off side.
19.4
1
Flatter and outside off, Khaka cuts it to point for one.
19.3
1
Fuller and on off, Nonkululeko Mlaba works it to long on for one.
19.2
W
OUT! RUN OUT! Sri Lanka Women are moments away now! On the pads, Ismail flicks it past mid-wicket and calls for two which was never available. Sugandika Kumari throws it to the keeper who clips the bails off. Even a dive doesn't save Ismail.
19.1
2
A full toss outside off. Ismail slams it to long off. The fielder runs across and cuts it off for two.
In over# 19
0
0W
4
0W
1
1wd
1
Inoka Ranaweera 18/3(4)
18.6
.
Outside off, spins away. Khaka swings and misses. The keeper removes the bails and puts up an appeal. The replay shows Khaka had her back foot outside but not when the bails were off. She dragged it back. 13 runs needed. Nothing on the UltraEdge as well.
18.5
W
OUT! RUN OUT! Jafta goes now! Ohh dear! What a game of cricket! Outside off. Ismail fails to flick. It goes off the pads to short third man where the fielder picks with one hand and throws it to the keeper who quickly dislodges the bails. No need to go upstairs.
18.4
4
FOUR! Poor! Full and outside off. Ismail looks to drive but splices it to backward point. The fielder easily lets it through her legs for a boundary. Everyone are feeling the pressure.
18.3
W
OUT! STUMPED! The pressure is on South Africa Women again! Floated, outside off, spins slightly away. Luss comes down the track to go downtown but misses and the keeper removes the bails with ease. This is going right down the wire.
