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Hosts South Africa secured their first win in the Women’s T20 World Cup and kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive after beating New Zealand by 65 runs in Paarl.
South Africa bounced back from a shaky start to post 132-6 from 20 overs, with Chloe Tryon hitting 40 off 34 deliveries and Nadine de Klerk’s unbeaten 28 helping them set a winning target.
Nonkululeko Mlaba (3-10) removed both openers and Tryon (2-12) also impressed with the ball for South Africa, as Marizanne Kapp (2-13) took the final wicket to dismiss New Zealand for 67 in 19 overs.
The win moved South Africa to third in the Group 1 standings with two matches remaining, with the top two in the standings advancing to the semi-finals, while a second consecutive defeat to New Zealand left them on the brink of elimination.
How South Africa achieved a key victory
South Africa – batting first after winning the toss – lost Tazmin Brits in the opening over and saw both Kapp (9) and Laura Wolvaardt (13) removed by Lea Tahuhu (2-27).
Captain Sune Luus was run out after a quickfire 22 and Eden Carson (2-25) bowled Delmi Tucker (5) to leave the struggling hosts at 78-5 in the 13th over, before Tryon’s sixth wicket between them. and de Klerk helped rebuild the South African innings.
Mlaba dismissed both New Zealand openers without scoring and Kapp dismissed Georgia Plimmer for seven runs, while Amelia Kerr (10) was also caught behind by Ayabonga Khaka to send the visitors to a surprise 18-4.
Captain Sophie Devine top-scored with 16 off 28 deliveries and Jess Kerr – one of three players to reach double figures – added 11, although wickets continued to fall cheaply as New Zealand were bowled out with 11 balls to spare.
Sophie Devine top scored for New Zealand with 16
Devine slams ’embarrassing’ New Zealand loss
New Zealand’s latest heavy defeat follows a 97-run defeat by defending champions Australia in their group opener, with captain Sophie Devine frustrated by a disappointing start to the World Cup.
“They [South Africa] completely outplayed us today and they deserve the championship, so congratulations to them,” said Devine. “Honestly, it’s a shame, you can’t say much else out of it.
“We have trained hard, done all the work behind the scenes and then to come out and perform like that for two games in a row now is not good enough in international cricket.
Tuesday, February 14, 4:30 p.m
“I thought it was a competitive score, but we always have confidence that we can chase down any score. We will have some looks in the mirror and some rough discussions, I think.”
South Africa captain Sune Luus said: “The spinners did a brilliant job tonight. But support them to finish the job off. It was a brilliant bowling performance by the whole team.”
What’s next?
Saturday, February 18, 4:30 p.m
The lone match in the T20 World Cup on Tuesday is the defending champions Australia toy Bangladesh in Gqeberha from 5pm, with the favorites of the tournament then facing Group leader 1 Sri Lanka on Thursday.
New Zealand elimination will be confirmed with defeat against Bangladesh in Cape Town on Friday, when South Africa next play on Saturday evening against Australia in Gqeberha.
The top two teams at the end of the round-robin campaign will advance to the semi-finals, with England – who have won their opening two matches – are currently top of Group 2.
Watch every match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa live on Sky Sports!
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