SRI LANKA WOMEN'S TOUR OF SOUTH AFRICA, 2019

Bowlers star as South Africa complete whitewash

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Stand-in skipper Sune Luus picked up four wickets to restrict Sri Lanka to 139. © Getty

The South African men's team might have had issues in polishing off Sri Lanka in the first Test but the women's side continued their domination against their counterparts as they completed a whitewash in the ODI series on Sunday (February 17). Sri Lanka Women made only 139 after opting to bat first and the target was eventually chased down with more than 11 overs to spare.

Sri Lanka were handed a massive blow in the very first over of the game when Shabnim Ismail got rid of skipper Chamari Athapaththu for a first-ball duck. Ismail bowled a terrific opening spell with the new ball and even though she didn't add to her wickets tally, she ended up bowling four maidens out of the seven overs she bowled. Following Prasadani Weerakkody's dismissal in the eighth over, Anushka Sanjeewani and Hasini Perera added 43 for the third wicket to resurrect the innings.

The hosts came back strong immediately striking thrice inside five overs to peg back Sri Lanka. Stand-in skipper Sune Luus accounted for two of those wickets and then added two more to finish with figures of 4 for 30. The lower eventually managed to drag Sri Lanka's score past the three figure mark as they registered their lowest score of the series.

The chase of 140 was not a walk in the park for the South Africans though. Openers Andrie Steyn and Laura Wolvaardt were dismissed by Inoka Ranaweera inside the powerplay before Mignon du Preez ensured there was no collapse. She added 50 for the third wicket with Lara Goodall before the visitors struck twice in two overs to cause some panic in the South African dressing room.

Du Preez then took charge and batted with caution alongside Nadine de Klerk when the hosts still needed 57 for victory. Du Preez calmed the nerves and managed to fetch a half-century to remain unbeaten alongside de Klerk and polish off the chase.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka Women 139 in 44.2 overs (Anushka Sanjeewani 28; Sune Luus 4-30, Nadine de Klerk 2-30) lost to South Africa Women 141/4 in 38.2 overs (Mignon du Preez 61*; Inoka Ranaweera 3-23) by six wickets.

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