South Africa hit record total to crush Thailand at T20 World Cup

South Africa's players celebrate after a victory against Thailand during the Twenty20 women's World Cup cricket match between South Africa and Thailand in Canberra 

CANBERRA, AFP: South Africa clubbed the highest total at a Women’s T20 World Cup to crush minnows Thailand by a massive 113 runs and stayed on track for a place in the semi-finals Friday.

Skipper Dane Van Niekerk won the toss in Canberra and opted to bat, with her team building 195 for three, anchored by powerful opener Lizelle Lee’s 101.

It was the biggest score in the tournament’s history, beating India’s 194 for five against New Zealand in Providence in 2018.

In reply, Thailand were all out for 82 with South Africa bagging a hat-trick off Shabnim Ismail’s bowling, although one was a run-out.

“The box we wanted to tick today was to take the win,” said Van Niekerk. “Credit to Lizelle for that century... but I think our fielding let us down a little bit today.

“I don’t think we were at our 100% best today.” The Proteas registered a commanding victory over England in their opening game and by thrashing Thailand, have two wins from two to be well-placed in Group A.