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Captains Laura Wolvaardt and Sophie Devine remained unbeaten in half a century as they led their teams South Africa and New Zealand to stunning victories in the Women’s T20 World Cup on Friday.
South Africa defeated the West Indies by 10 wickets, with Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits chasing their winning target of 119 with 13 balls remaining.
Left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba recorded figures of 4-29, restricting West Indies to 118-6 in Dubai.
Later at the same venue, New Zealand’s Devine steered her team to 160-4 after opting to bat first.
Medium-pace bowlers Rosemary Mair and Lea Tahuhu shared seven wickets to bowl India out for 102 in 19 overs – a 58-run win – ending New Zealand’s 10-match losing streak.
“People have been talking about our recent results when we faced a world-class team like India. “I’m blown away by the performance we achieved,” said Devine, player of the game.
“We have had our sights set on this game for a long time. To come out and make a mark (is great), but we still have a long way to go in the tournament.”
New Zealand started strongly with a brisk opening score of 67 points between Suzie Bates, who scored 27 points, and Georgia Plimmer, who scored 34 points.
A controversy erupted when skipper Harmanpreet Kaur hit Amelia Kerr with a throw from deep to the wicketkeeper, who flung the bails away, but the umpire called the batsman back because the ball was “dead”.
Kaur remained unhappy and had a lengthy discussion with the umpires before reluctantly returning to play, but the break seemed to have affected Kerr, who was caught two balls later in the next over.
Devine remained steadfast and took up the attack with regular boundaries at the opposition and reached her fifty with a four as New Zealand finished with 37 runs in the final three overs.
India were never in the chase after losing openers Shafali Verma for two and Smriti Mandhana for 12 in the first five overs – both batters fell to off-spin from Eden Carson.
Mair sent Kaur back, blocked lbw for 15 to further the fightback, and eventually finished the match with back-to-back strikes to take the score to 4-19.
– ‘Not that easy’ –
In the first match of the day, Wolvaardt, who scored 59, was tested early on by the West Indies bowlers but once she found her rhythm, the right-handed opener reached her 50 in 45 balls.
“Not that easy,” Wolvaardt said of her performance in the extreme heat of Dubai. “One of the hardest hits I’ve taken physically, especially after being first on the field.”
Brits, who made 57, also increased her half-ton in 45 balls and finished her knock with six boundaries.
Wolvaardt survived to make amends at five and 33 – both cases involving a return catch dropped by the bowler, and the first time when West Indies’ Zaida James suffered a cut to the jaw when the ball bounced off the hand.
James, a left-arm spinner who shared the new ball with Chinelle Henry, left the field with a swollen jaw after bowling just one ball of their first over and never returned.
Earlier, the West Indies suffered from regular wicket falls and struggled to put up a fighting total despite an unbeaten 44 from number three batsman Stafanie Taylor.
Marizanne Kapp, a medium-pace bowler, struck first with the wicket of skipper Hayley Matthews out for 10 and soon after, Mlaba sent Qiana Joseph back for four.
Mlaba, who was named player of the match, kept the batters moving with her change of pace and angle and took two wickets in two overs to flatten the West Indian batting performance.
Australia will begin its campaign on Saturday when it takes on Sri Lanka in Sharjah. In the second match of the day, England will face Bangladesh.
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