Chamari Athapaththu's aggressive half-century, combined with Harshitha Samarawickrama's unbeaten fifty, led Sri Lanka to a historic four-wicket victory, securing their first-ever series win over the Proteas Women in the third and final T20 International (T20I) held in East London on Wednesday.
Match Summary:
South Africa Women vs Sri Lanka Women, 3rd T20I.
South Africa Women scored 155/6 (20 overs) and Sri Lanka Women 156/6 (19.1 overs).
Sri Lanka Women won by 4 wickets.
Athapaththu hit 12 boundaries, including seven fours and five sixes, on her way to a 46-ball 73. Samarawickrama remained unbeaten with 54 runs off 43 deliveries (4 fours, 1 six) during Sri Lanka’s successful chase of South Africa’s total of 155/6. Wolvaardt led their innings with 56 off 47 balls (8 fours).
South Africa, after losing the toss, was put into bat first. The opening partnership was broken when Tazmin Brits (7) was dismissed by Sungadika Kumari (3/24).
Wolvaardt and all-rounder Marizanne Kapp then combined to take the Proteas to 50/1 by the end of the powerplay. Kapp departed for eight after being caught and bowled by Udeshika Prabodhani (1/49).
Despite Wolvaardt's resistance and a partnership with Marizanne Kapp, South Africa stumbled to 65/3 in the ninth over. They lost key wickets to Sri Lankan bowlers Udeshika Prabodhani and Kaveesha Dilhari.
Wolvaardt reached her half-century, and Bosch contributed 27 runs to steady the innings. Sri Lanka's bowlers continued to chip away at the Proteas' lineup. De Klerk's late onslaught, scoring 44 runs off 25 balls, propelled South Africa past 150 runs, finishing on 155/6 after 20 overs.
During their chase, Sri Lanka faced an early setback when the in-form Vishmi Gunaratne (1) was dismissed with the first ball of the second over. Wolvaardt took a smart overhead catch off the bowling of Nonkululeko Mlaba (1/26).
The early wicket did not slow down the subcontinent outfit. Captain Athapaththu quickly found her rhythm with the bat and helped push her team to 48/1 at the end of the field-restricted overs.
With Athapaththu leading the way, Sri Lanka swiftly progressed to 82/1 in the first 10 overs. The right-hander reached her ninth career fifty in spectacular fashion, hitting two consecutive sixes in the ninth over.
After hitting another six alongside Samarawickrama to take Sri Lanka into triple figures, Athapaththu's impressive innings was ended by Kapp (1/24), concluding the record-breaking 97-run partnership. Marx (1/27) then dismissed Dilhari (1), leaving the visitors at 114/3 after 14 overs, with 42 runs still needed to win.
Despite losing wickets, Samarawickrama played a composed innings and, with the help of partnerships with Hasini Perera (10) and Nilakshika Silva (12), guided Sri Lanka to the brink of victory. Sri Lanka needed only six runs off 11 deliveries to secure the win, which Samarawickrama sealed with a winning single with five balls to spare.
Wolvaardt was awarded the Player of the Series accolade for her outstanding performances throughout the series. She recorded a total of 158 runs in two innings at an average of 79.