Marizanne Kapp excelled with the bat, followed by Nonkululeko Mlaba’s brilliance with the ball, as the Proteas Women secured a commanding 80-run victory over Scotland in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Dubai on Wednesday.
Kapp smashed six fours during her 24-ball 43, while Tazmin Brits contributed a valuable 43 off 35 balls to guide South Africa to the tournament’s highest score so far, 166 for 5. Mlaba then took charge with the ball, recording impressive figures of 3-12, helping to bowl out Scotland for 86 with 13 balls to spare.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the Proteas openers, Laura Wolvaardt and Brits helped the Proteas advance to 83/1 at the halfway mark of their innings. Despite losing Chloe Tryon (2) in the penultimate over, the Proteas Women finished their innings on 166-5, with Suné Luus remaining unbeaten on 18.
In response, Scotland’s innings suffered an early collapse, with Tryon (2-22) claiming two crucial wickets, leaving Scotland at 34/3 after six overs. Scotland’s situation worsened as Mlaba and Nadine de Klerk (2-15) joined the wicket-taking spree. Although the Scottish tail resisted for a few overs, Mlaba and De Klerk wrapped up the innings, sealing a dominant victory for the Proteas Women.
Kapp was named Player of the Match, while Wolvaardt became the Proteas Women’s leading T20 International run-scorer with 1,906 runs in 69 innings. Wolvaardt also leads the tournament’s run charts with 141 runs, while Mlaba tops the wicket-taking list with eight wickets in three matches.
South Africa will complete their Group B fixtures with a match against Bangladesh on Saturday at the Dubai International Stadium.