Sri Lanka edge South Africa to make it 1-1

Sri Lanka women’s tour of South Africa

Kavisha Dilhari and Vishmi Gunaratne guided Sri Lanka women to a convincing seven-wicket victory over the Proteas in the second T20I at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom on Saturday .

Dilhari’s unbeaten 45 off 28 balls, which included six boundaries, and Gunaratne’s unbeaten 65 off 57 balls (9×4, 1×6) were instrumental in the win. Despite being in a tough position at 62/3 in the 12th over, the duo combined for an unbeaten 76-run partnership in just 45 balls to secure the victory with seven balls to spare.

The Sri Lankan chase faced an early setback when Tumi Sekhukhune dismissed Chamari Athapaththu for 6 in the fifth over, but Dilhari and Gunaratne’s partnership turned the game in their favor.

Gunaratne kept the scoreboard ticking, but not at a very quick rate and when Chloe Tryon bowled Harshita Samarawickrama (12) towards the end of the 10th over, it left Sri Lanka on 56/2 at the halfway mark.

Hasini Perera (1) fell shortly after, caught by De Klerk off Sekhukhune’s bowling in the 12th over, putting Sri Lanka in a tough spot. However, Dilhari’s entry turned the game around for Sri Lanka with an outstanding player-of-the-match performance.

Earlier after winning the toss and elected to bat Sourh Africa were off to a shaky start when they lost Tazmin Brits early on.

Following a early breakthrough Bosch and Kapp formed a strong partnership of 58 runs, setting the stage for a potentially high score.
Kapp had a slow start, but a six in the eighth over seemed to free her up. In the tenth over, Bosch reached her fifty while Kapp hit two boundaries and a six. However, Bosch was dismissed on the last ball of the over. The second half of the innings was dominated by Sri Lanka, as the Proteas could only manage to add 51 runs and lost six wickets. This was due to some excellent bowling and poor running, which proved costly for the Proteas.

Brief Scores

Sri Lanka 138 for 3 (Gunaratne 65, Dilhari 45*, Tryon 1-14) beat South Africa 137 for 8 (Bosch 50, Kapp 44, Kulasuriya 2-26) by seven wickets