South Africa’s all-round Kapp downs Sri Lanka Women

Thursday, 16 October 2014 01:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

ESPNCricinfo: Marizanne Kapp fueled South Africa Women to a winning start in the ICC Women’s Championship. She complemented an unbeaten 89 with a spell of 2 for 36 to keep Sri Lanka Women 54 runs short of their target of 226 in Colombo.

South Africa, after opting to bat, found themselves 17 for 2 in the seventh over. Opener Lizelle Lee rallied with a composed 72 off 103 balls. She was part of two half-century partnerships with the middle order and Kapp ensured that period of stability was not in vain with 89 off 90 balls, including eight fours. Her stand of 85 with Dane van Niekerk for the fifth wicket rushed South Africa to a promising 225 at the end of 50 overs. Sri Lanka’s reply barely got started before Kapp made further impact. She struck in the second over to remove Shashikala Siriwardene for a duck. Four of the top six were dismissed for single-figures as Sri Lanka languished at 66 for 6 in the 27th over. Kapp finished with two wickets, as did fellow seamer Shabnim Ismail, and spinners van Niekerk and Yolani Fourie. All of them conceded less than four an over. Eshani Kaushalya struck a rapid 59 off 55 balls to frustrate South Africa. She led a seventh-wicket partnership of 43 with Maduri Samuddika and added a further 47 with No. 10 Udeshika Prabodhani before being dismissed. South Africa claimed a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. Chief Scores: South Africa women 225 for 8 (Kapp 89*, Lee 72, Kaushalya 2-24) beat Sri Lanka women 172 for 9 (Kaushalya 59, Ismail 2-19) by 53 runs