File photo: Deandra Dottin struck three fours and a six during her 21-ball 31 © Getty Images
West Indies 81 for 5 (Dottin 31, Knight 26) beat South Africa 80 for 9 (Luus 23, Ramharack 3-8) by five wickets
A strong bowling performance, capped by a three-wicket haul from offspinner Karishma Ramharack, helped West Indies women level the three-match T20I series 1-1 with a five-wicket victory against South Africa women in North Sound.
South Africa, opting to bat, failed to build any momentum in their innings, as captain Dane van Niekerk was caught behind for a duck in the very first over, off the bowling of Chinelle Henry. Aaliyah Alleyne then rattled the visitors’ top order, accounting for the wickets of Lizelle Lee (9) and Marizanne Kapp (0), before Laura Wolvaardt was run out for 3, leaving South Africa struggling at 12 for 4.
Tazmin Brits (16) and Sune Luus (23) were the only two batters to make any meaningful contributions, as Ramharack (3 for 8) struck in three successive overs at the death to keep South Africa to a paltry 80 for 9 from their 20 overs.
West Indies lost their opener Hayley Matthews early in the chase, but a 53-run partnership between Deandra Dottin (31) and Kyshona Knight (26) put them on course for a straightforward win. The hosts lost a flurry of wickets towards the end, but by then the contest was all but over, as West Indies overhauled the target in 11.5 overs.
“We really wanted to win,” West Indies’ stand-in captain Anisa Mohammed said after the match. “I told the girls a tie (drawn series) looked better than a loss. I thought our bowlers bowled really well and the energy was exceptional. We went wrong in all areas of the game in the second game, today was a new day. We kept the pressure on and knew what we wanted to restrict them for under a hundred which is what we did.”
The two teams will now turn their attention to the ODIs starting on Tuesday, August 7 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.
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