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Rain washes out first ODI between Proteas and Sri Lanka

cricket09 April 2024 18:20
By:Ross Roche
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Rain @ Gallo Images

Tazmin Brits struck a sparkling century, but rain had the final say as the opening ODI between the Proteas women and Sri Lanka was washed out at Buffalo Park in East London on Tuesday night.

Brits cracked 12 fours on her way to her second ODI hundred, before she was out for 116 off 128 balls, with her effort leading the Proteas to a formidable 270/6 batting first.

Just under seven overs were then possible in Sri Lanka’s chase, with them reaching 23/0 when the rain arrived to chase the players from the field, and eventually end the match after the poor conditions persisted.

The teams now head to the Diamond Oval in Kimberley where they will battle it out in the second ODI on Saturday.

In the first innings Brits was in top form as she shared in a number of good partnerships, before bringing up her second ton just over three months after she notched her first against Bangladesh in December.

“I am happy. I didn’t have a good T20 series, so getting a century in the first ODI has definitely boosted my confidence,” said Brits after she was dismissed late in the innings.

At the start of play Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field, with the Proteas innings got off to a solid start as captain Laura Wolvaardt, 41 off 57 balls (3x4) and Brits batted at a good rate to take them past 50 with a boundary off the bat of Brits in the ninth over.

Sri Lanka managed to bring the run rate down a bit over the next 10 overs, but Wolvaardt and Brits still continued on their merry way, with Brits bringing up her half century with a single in the 19th over and by the end of it the Proteas were sitting pretty on 94/0.

DE KLERK SHOW IN CLOSING OVERS

However, the first ball of the 20th brought the breakthrough as Wolvaardt tried to push at a ball from Kavisha Dilhari that was too close to her body and ended up feathering a catch to keeper Anushka Sanjeewani.

This brought Anneke Bosch, 39 off 42 (6x4), to the crease and along with Brits they continued batting the Proteas into a position of strength with a 70-run stand, as Bosch cracked a four to bring up the teams hundred in the 21st over.

Having taken their side past the 150-run mark in the 30th over, Bosch looked to up the ante and took on Oshadi Ranasinghe in the 32nd over but only found Sugandika Kumari on the long-on boundary as they slipped to 164/2.

Sune Luus, 22 off 30 (2x4), was the new batter and her and Brits kept the scoreboard ticking with a 40-run third-wicket partnership, taking their side to 200 at the end of the 40th over, while Brits moved into the 90s.

Luus then popped a return catch to Komari in the 41st over, but that didn’t bother Brits as she brought up her second international century with a single in the 42nd.

Marizanne Kapp (6) didn’t last long, while Brits's impressive innings finally came to an end as she tried to up the scoring rate, caught at wide long on off the bowling of Dilhari leaving the Proteas on 232/5 in the 46th over.

It was then the Nadine de Klerk show in the closing overs as she hammered 34 off 22 balls (5x4, 1x6), and dominated a 38-run stand with Delmi Tucker (8*).

She particularly got stuck into the last two overs, with a six slammed over cow corner and three consecutive boundaries in the last over from Kumari seeing 15 come off it before De Klerk was bowled off the last ball.

PROTEAS: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Delmi Tucker, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Nonkululeko Mlaba, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas

SRI LANKA: Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Hasini Perera, Nilakshika de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Anushka Sanjeewani, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Achini Kulasuriya, Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari

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