Women’s T20 World Cup : South Africa beat Pakistan, West Indies get better of Sri Lanka in warm-ups

New Delhi : In the final day of warm-ups at Women’s T20 World Cup, hosts South Africa defeated Pakistan by six wickets, while West Indies got the better of Sri Lanka by four wickets with just two balls to spare in a low-scoring thriller.
For Pakistan, all-rounder Aliya Riaz was the star of the show making 48 from 30 balls as her side set hosts South Africa 143 to win. Lower-order batter Ayesha Naseem provided useful runs late on as she scored 21 runs from 12 balls before she was dismissed by Ayabonga Khaka, who took two for 23, while spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba took one for 16 from her four overs.
In reply, Laura Wolvaardt headlined South Africa’s response, making 65 in an 107-run opening partnership with Tazmin Brits. Tazmin went on to make 36, before a mini-collapse left South Africa on 116/4 as Anneke Bosch and captain Sune Luus both fell for three runs.
Lower-order batting all-rounders Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk guided the Proteas home with 10 balls to spare to send South Africa to Newlands in a buoyant mood ahead of their tournament opener against Sri Lanka on February 10.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka stuttered on their way to posting 107 all out from their 20 overs, with only Nilakshi de Silva able to deliver with the bat. She arrived with Sri Lanka two for 29 after 5.2 overs, and scored 29 off 26 balls to help steer her side to a modest total.
Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari each made 16. But seven scores under double figures, including captain Chamari Athapaththu, continued to halt their progress.
After taking three for 17 with the ball, captain Hayley Matthews gave the West Indies the perfect batting platform with a fifty before she was run out by some brilliant glovework from Anushka Sanjeewani. They slipped to five for 76 before Chinelle Henry steered her side home alongside Afy Fletcher.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 142/5 in 20 overs (Aliya Riaz 48 not out, Ayesha Naseem 21; Ayabonga Khaka 2/23, Nonkululeko Mlaba 1/16) lost to South Africa 143/4 in 18.2 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 65, Tazmin Brits 36; Aliya Riaz 2/24, Sadia Iqbal 3/22) by six wickets
Sri Lanka 107 all out in 20 overs (Nilakshi Silva 29, Harshitha Samarawickrama 16; Hayley Matthews 3/17, Afy Fletcher 2/13) lost to West Indies 111/6 in 19.4 overs (Hayley Matthews 46) by four wickets