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Spinners, Kapp, Brits help boost South Africa’s semi-final chances
South Africa got the better of Bangladesh in Dubai to end the league stage of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 with six points and a net run rate of 1.382. It was the final game of the league stage for both teams, with Bangladesh bowing out of the competition with just a solitary win.
Both teams batted cautiously throughout. Bangladesh only managed to post 106 for 3 in 20 overs, the lowest total made by a side batting their full quota for a loss of three or fewer wickets in a T20 World Cup game. For a large part of the chase, South Africa barely scored at over a run a ball and finally completed their win with just 16 balls to spare; only Tazmin Britts (42 off 41)and Chloe Tryon (14 off 13) scored at a strike rate in excess of 100.
Captain Laura Wolvaardt lost the toss but was happy to bat second to “control NRR while chasing”. At the end of the evening, though, South Africa’s net run rate dipped from 1.527 to 1.382, and they will be left watching nervously as England and West Indies complete their league fixtures over the next few days.
You could not fault Bangladesh’s batting approach after they chose to bat. They lost Dilara Akter in the first over, nibbling an edge to the wicketkeeper, but did not go into a shell. For starters, South Africa surprised many by keeping their fast bowlers on through the powerplay; spin came on only in the eighth over. Shathi Rani tried hard to break the shackles but to no avail. She walked down the track, skipped down, moved around in the crease but couldn’t find a boundary in the first six overs.
She faced 23 balls and played out 18 dots. But she tried attacking shots in 11 of those balls. Rani tried to attack 50% of the balls she faced but had only one four and a six and a strike rate of 63.33 to show. Only Tazmin Brits attacked more balls (16) than Rani (15) in the entire match.
When Rani holed out two balls after hitting her six – a whack over wide long-on, Bangladesh were only 36 for 2 in the eighth over. There was a danger of them finishing with a score under 100 for the second time in three games. But Sobhana Mostary and Nigar Sultana added 45 for the third wicket in 56 balls to help Bangladesh motor along, even if not threaten South Africa with a huge score. Boundaries were hard to come by and so was strike rotation. But they kept at it, and more importantly, frustrated South Africa by not crumbling.
The bowlers tried hard and it was Nonkululeko Mlaba who finally managed to get enough purchase from the pitch to beat a Mostary’s heave and bowl her. It was her ninth wicket in the competition, and she equaled Marizanne Kapp’s record for most wickets in a single edition of a T20 World Cup for South Africa. In the last two overs, Bangladesh managed to score 23 with Nigar hitting a four and running well between the wickets with Shorna Akter. The pair managed six doubles in the last two overs of the innings to help Bangladesh cross 100.
Brits got off to a fast start, hitting three fours in the first two overs as South Africa were 17 for 0 in two overs. Wolvaardt managed to flick one to the right of mid-on and beat deep midwicket to her left to open her boundary count, using her feet in a bid to put legspinner Fahima Khatun off. But Fahima managed to exact revenge next ball, lobbing one up and deceiving Wolvaardt in flight to get her stump.
Nahida Akter managed to draw a few false strokes – including a leading edge off Brits – in the fourth over while Fahima beat Anneke Bosch twice with a slider. Brits and Bosch could not break free and the pressure almost did the trick for Bangladesh. But Fahima could not hang on to a simple offering at deep midwicket when Brits slogged one straight at her, and parried it away for four. Brits was on a run-a-ball 21 at that point. The next three overs went for 21 before Fahima came back to dismiss Bosch.
By then, Brits had gotten in and South Africa were in control. So much so that even her dismissal in the 14th over did not send jitters in the South African camp. Kapp and Tryon added the finishing touches, even without much swag, to get the job done. South Africa have the points but they will be on the edge concerning their NRR, just the scenario they had set out to avoid when the game began.
Brief scores:
South Africa Women 107 for 3 in 17.2 overs (Tanzim Brits 42, Anneke Bosch 25, Fahima Khatun 2-19, Ritu Moni 1-22) beat Bangladesh Women 106 for 3 in 20 overs (Sobhana Mostary 38, Nigar sultana 32*; Marizanne Kapp 1-10, Annerie Derecksen 1-07, Nonkululeko Mlaba 1-11) by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
Mitchell Starc’s sizzling spell with the pink ball headlined the opening day of the day-night Test in Adelaide as Australia responded to their 295 run drubbing in Perth by dismissing India for 180. Jasprit Bumrah then got rid of Usman Khawaja in the twilight but the under-pressure Marnus Labuschagne and rookie opener Nathan McSweeney navigated a tricky passage of play to guide Australia to stumps without any further damage. Their unbroken 62-run partnership helped Australia cut their deficit to under 100 and ensured that the first day in Adelaide belonged to them.
The first ball from Starc was a portent for what was to follow. He struck in the first over of each of his three spells, asserting his supremacy in pink-ball Tests. He came away with career-best Test figures of 6 for 48, which extended his pink ball tally in Australia to 2. It is twice as many as Pat Cummins (36) has taken and 29 more than what Nathan Lyon, Starc’s closest contender in pink-ball Test cricket in the country, has managed.
It all started with that first ball to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had told Starc that he was “coming on too slow” in Perth. On Friday in Adelaide, Starc let rip a full, fast inswinger that swerved late and thudded into his front pad. It was so plumb that Jaiswal didn’t even bother to review. Starc roared at the departing Jaiswal and had over 36,000 spectators – the biggest crowd for an India-Australia Test in Adelaide – roaring with him.
Shubman Gill, who returned to India’s Test XI after missing the Perth Test with a hand injury and KL Rahul then briefly settled India’s innings with a 69-run stand for the second wicket. Gill showed little signs of rust and laid into drives whenever Australia’s quicks veered away from their lengths and the stumps.
At the other end, Rahul was more circumspect, playing out Cummins for three maidens. He then lost his patience and fended at Scott Boland’s first ball, which reared up to threaten the shoulder of his bat. Rahul walked off, thinking he had nicked it behind but a front-foot no-ball from Boland earned him a reprieve. There was nothing on the Snicko either. Five balls later, Boland hit Rahul’s outside edge but Khawaja grassed the chance at first slip.
Rahul’s luck, however, ran out when Starc returned for his second spell and struck with his fourth ball. He extracted extra bounce and had Rahul edging it to gully for 37 off 64 balls. In his next over, Starc took out Virat Kohli for seven off eight balls with a similar prancing delivery.
Brief scores: [stumps]
Australia 86 for 1 (Nathan McSweeney 38*, Marnus Labuschagne 20*; Jasprit Bumrah 1-13) trail India 180 in 44.1 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 42, KL Rahul 37; Mitchell Starc 6-48, Pat Cummins 2-41) by 94 runs
[Cricinfo]
Kyle Verrevnne clobbered bouncer after bouncer after bouncer, crashing six fours and three sixes, on his way to a dynamic third Test century, as South Africa reaped 89 runs for the loss of their last three wickets. En route to that ton, Verreynne forged a 66-run stand with Kagiso Rabada, a period in which his confidence ballooned, just as Sri Lanka were left utterly frustrated, their short-ball plans going awry.
In the end, South Africa motored to a total of 358. Rabada contributed 23 of those runs, and Dane Paterson 9. Verreynne, meanwhile, bludgeoned 57 runs off the 50 balls he faced on the second morning, and remained not out on 105 off 133 balls by innings end.
Sri Lanka’s frontline seamers each took a wicket on day two, with Vishwa Fernando having Keshav Maharaj caught at slip, before Asitha Fernando ended Rabada’s innings, and Lahiru Kumara had Paterson holing out. Kumara claimed the innings’ best figures, taking 4 for 79.
After they had dismissed South Africa, Sri Lanka’s openers had six overs to face before lunch. They were tested by Rabada and Marco Jansen’s zip off the pitch, and the bounce both bowlers generated, with both Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka drawn into playing (and missing) balls in the channel. But they survived this period, with Karunaratne finding one boundary behind square on the off side.
It was a triple-boundary over against Asitha that really got Verreynne’s engine roaring. This being the 99th over of the innings, Sri Lanka had long since decided that the second new ball had stopped swinging, and turned almost solely to bouncers and short deliveries to blast the final two wickets out. They had a deep square leg and a deep midwicket out for Verreynne, but he set himself up for the bouncer by changing his stance to a slightly front-on one, and kept thumping the ball past the deep fielders.
Rabada, who had been shielded from the strike in most overs, but had nevertheless faced more than 30 deliveries now, chipped in with boundaries of his own, some of them fortuitous ones off the edge.
Rabada would soon be bowled by Asitha, going at the stumps for a change. With the No. 11 in, and still on 81, Verreynne yanked the throttle with even more intensity, first smashing Prabath Jayasuriya over cow corner for six, before mowing Asitha Fernando into the banks to get within one strike of a 100, before reaching triple figures with another mighty pull, which sent the ball sailing over fine leg’s head.
The milestone sparked wild celebrations, a bow from Verreynne to the dressing room, and a bear-hug from Paterson. Verreynne himself likely did not anticipate that a century would be on the cards when he began the morning on 48, with seven wickets already down.
Paterson would smack two fours and get out next over. But South Africa had inflicted substantial damage in the 17.1 overs they faced on day two.
Brief scores:[at lunch]
Sri Lanka 19 for no loss (Dimuth Karunaratne 5*, Pathum Nissanka 2*) trail South Africa 358 (Kyle Verreynne 105*, Ryan Rickelton 101, Temba Bavuma 78; Lahiru Kumara 4-79, Vishwa Fernando 2-65, Asitha Fernando 3-102 ) by 339 runs
[Cricinfo]
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasized the need for the support of all professionals to digitize the country and actively participate in the process, at a time when the expectations of the political establishment and digital technologists are aligned.
He further assured that he would firmly stand by this vision at any time.
The President shared these remarks while addressing officials of the Ministry of Digital Economic Affairs after assuming duties as the Minister of Digital Economic Affairs on Thursday (05).
Highlighting the benefits of digitalization, the President stated that it has the potential to enhance the efficiency of economic activities and elevate the country’s economy to greater heights.
The President highlighted that the government’s primary objectives are poverty eradication, transforming social attitudes, and advancing digitalization.
The President emphasized that a country’s development cannot be achieved solely by constructing buildings. Reflecting on the past, he recalled the existence of a dedicated construction ministry two decades ago and noted that currently, construction activities are being undertaken by every ministry.
He revealed that during discussions with the Ministry of Education authorities and university chancellors last year, no attention was given to education reforms, with the focus remaining solely on building construction.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also highlighted that despite the Ministry of Labor possessing two large buildings, there has been no reduction in public queues, stressing that digitalization is essential to address such issues effectively.
The Ministry has outlined a plan to generate an income of USD 15 billion within the next five years through the digital economy.
Efforts will also be directed towards increasing the digital workforce to 200,000 and digitizing the entire country within the same timeframe.
Engineer Eranga Weeraratne assumed duties as the Deputy Minister of Digital Economy during this occasion.
The event was attended by Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Digital Economy Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Senior Advisor to the President on Digital Affairs Hans Wijayasuriya, who is also the Chairman of ICTA, along with a group of officials
Refrain from reporting false information that could harm national harmony – President
McSweeney, Labuschagne blunt India after Starc sizzles on Australia’s day
Verreynne’s brisk 105* gives South Africa 358; Sri Lanka openers steady in pursuit
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