Proteas Women have drawn their T20 series against Ireland Women, after the Irish won the second match by 20 runs in Dublin.
The first match two days previously wasn’t supposed to be as close as it was as stand-in skipper Dinesha Devnarain hit the winning runs off the final ball, but Ireland sprung a surprise yet again, and this time they emerged victors.
The South African women – missing several of their key stars to the Kia Super League in England – won the toss and elected to field. Irish opening pair Clare Shillington (48) and Gaby Lewis (26) navigated the bowling attack with ease as they built up a 78-run stand in the first 13 overs.
No one else really stood out for the hosts however as Marcia Letsoalo pegged them back with two wickets. There were no less than four run outs, too, as the last seven overs saw seven wickets fall. They stumbled to 115-7.
In response, regular wickets kept the Proteas at bay as Trisha Chetty was the only one to score more than 20. Her 28 came off a laboured 40 balls, however, as they failed to hit their straps at any point in the innings.
Ten overs in they were on 45-3 with victory still a possibility, especially considering their dramatic escape in the first encounter. But it wasn’t to be this time around, as 77-4 turned into 95 all out, with the last five batsmen contributing just 16 runs between them.
The tourists will hope for a better showing in their four-match ODI series, which gets underway on Friday.
Photo: Anesh Debicky/Gallo Images
