WOMEN’S WORLD T20: Windies, Lanka record wins

GROS ISLET, St Lucia: The Windies engineered a dramatic collapse in the South Africa batting to snatch what seemed at one stage like an unlikely win in the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 match at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Ground in Gros Islet on Wednesday, says an ICC release.

Much to the delight of the large crowd that had gathered under lights, Stafanie Taylor picked up four wickets, after Shabnim Ismail’s burst had left the home team on the back foot.

In the earlier game, Bangladesh had yet another poor outing with the bat, bowled out for 72 chasing Sri Lanka’s total of 97 for seven, which was propped up on Shashikala Siriwardene’s 31. Sri Lanka claimed their first win in the tournament in the process.

The Windies maintained their spotless record against South Africa in ICC Women’s World T20s, applying sustained pressure with the ball and in the field to steal a 31-run win.

Their winning margin was bloated by a late collapse that saw South Africa lose their last five wickets for just one run.

South Africa were looking steady at 41-1 after 10 overs chasing the Windies total of 107, when two outstanding pieces of fielding —including one direct hit from point by Deandra Dotttin — brought the holders back into the game. Taylor then brought herself on and bowled her four overs on the trot, taking a wicket in each of them. From 48-1, South Africa slipped to 64-5 through a combination of pressure and panic, eventually bowled out for 76.

Taylor registered career best figures of 4-12, claiming Player of the Match, a medal that seemed headed into Shabnim Ismail’s pocket for a brilliant opening spell. Ismail (3-12) removed the Windies’ most destructive batters in her first twelve balls, claiming her second consecutive three-wicket haul.

A 45-run partnership between Kycia Knight (32) and Natasha McLean (28) rescued the Windies, giving them something to defend.

In the other match of the day, Bangladesh missed out on their best chance of ensuring automatic qualification for the next edition of the tournament as their batting disintegrated in a chase of 98.

Only two batters made it into double figures, as the batters undid some fine work from the bowlers, in particular Jahanara Alam.

Shashikala Siriwardene took two wickets for Sri Lanka after top scoring with the bat, and skipper Chamari Athapaththu took three after failing. But the dents in Bangladesh’s chase were made by the left arm swing of Udeshika Prabhodani, who took two wickets in her first over. Then the spinners shared the spoils, bowling 75 dots in the innings as Bangladesh never recovered from those early blows.

Earlier, Jahanara Alam’s three wickets were the highlight of a bowling effort that seemed to have done enough. Bangladesh strangled the Sri Lanka top order, until a 31-run partnership off 20 balls between Siriwardene and Nilakshi de Silva took them close to a hundred. A slow outfield and helpful conditions for the bowlers meant that those runs were enough.

Scores in brief: At Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium: Sri Lanka 97-7, 20 overs (Shashikala Siriwardene 31; Jahanara Alam 3-21). Bangladesh 72 all out in 20 overs (Nigar Sulatana 20; Chamari Athapaththu 3-17, Udeshika Prabhodani 2-6, Shashikala Siriwardene 2-10). Player of the Match: Shashikala Siriwardene.

At Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium: Windies 107-7, 20 overs (Kycia Knight 32, Natasha McLean 28; Shabnim Ismail 3-12, Dane van Neikerk 2-8). South Africa 76 all out in 18.4 overs (Marizanne Kapp 26, Lizelle Lee 24; Stafanie Taylor 4-12). Player of the Match: Stafanie Taylor.