South Africa put one foot in the Women’s Cricket World Cup semifinals on Friday night, beating co-hosts Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in a rain-disrupted clash in Colombo, picking up their fourth successive win.
With rain disrupting the match in the first innings after Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat, the game was reduced to 20 overs a side.
The Proteas bowlers did well to keep the Sri Lankans under pressure, led by spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba (3/30) and seamer Masabata Klaas (2/18), restricting their opposition to 105/7.
In response, South Africa coasted to a comprehensive win on the DLS method.
Chasing a target of 121 runs, opening batters Laura Wolvaardt (60 not out off 47) and Tazmin Brits (55 not out off 42) shared an unbroken 125-run stand for the first wicket, carrying them team to victory with more than five overs to spare.
With the win, the SA women rose to second place in the first-round standings with eight points, just one point behind log leaders Australia.
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