Proteas Women captain Dane van Niekerk extended her lead at the top of the wicket-taking charts with 4-24, as Sri Lanka Women were bowled for 101.
The Proteas are closing in on yet another Women’s World Cup victory, and this one could be the one that sends them through to the semi-finals.
It’s a vital match for the Proteas, with the world No 1-ranked side Australia being their last group-stage opponents, and against the lowest-ranked side in the tournament without any victories to their name so far, the Proteas were expected to win this.
And they’ve given themselves every chance of doing so, as the Sri Lankans failed to hit any shots in anger throughout the whole innings. While it was another solid bowling display from the Proteas, it was lacklustre and poor from Sri Lanka.
Chamari Atapattu, who blasted one of the best knocks in the history of the game last week with 178 not out against Australia, was the first to go for one as Marizanne Kapp got a low full toss to swing in enough to trap her on her pads with the first ball of her spell. Shabnim Imsail then had the Sri Lankans at 5-2, with Lizelle Lee taking a mistimed shot at point.
A 43-run stand then followed to get Sri Lanka back in the match, but they were going at a pace just over two runs an over, and the spinners proceeded to cash in. Dilani Manodara provided a bit of resistance with 25, but the highest score from the bottom five was five, as they were bowled out with 9.3 overs still left.
Van Niekerk was the outstanding performer with the ball yet again with figures of 4-24, making it 13 wickets for the tournament from her four matches. Marizanne Kapp sits in second in the tournament with 10 wickets after her 1-13 from five overs.
Photo: Julian Herbert/Getty Images
