Sri Lanka ambushed South Africa by 10 runs at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday to exit the ICC Women's World T20 on a winning note. Neither side had made the semi-finals, but this was a fiercely-contested encounter, belying its dead-rubber status.
Pursuing 115 for victory, South Africa had sailed to 50 without loss in nine overs. However, Dane van Niekerk's run-out triggered a collapse of six for 34 in 7.5 overs that squeezed the life out of the run chase.
Sri Lanka's captain Chamari Atapattu played a vital role in the outcome, scoring her maiden T20I fifty in the afternoon before dismissing her counterpart Mignon du Preez for nought.
Earlier, having elected the toss and opted to bat first, Sri Lanka rode on the back of Atapattu's innings of 52. The next-best score was 15. The left-hander was dropped on four by Van Niekerk at mid-off, and she made South Africa pay.
After a steady beginning, Atapattu shifted gears in the 12th over, slog-sweeping Van Niekerk for a four and a six over cow corner. But just as Sri Lanka looked set for an assault in the final few overs, the skipper was run out chasing a silly single. It didn't matter in the final analysis, though.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 114 for 7 in 20 overs (Chamari Atapattu 52; Marizanne Kapp 2 for 17, Sune Luus 2 for 20) bt South Africa 104 for 7 in 20 overs (Trisha Chetty 26, Udeshika Prabodhani 2 for 13, Sugandika Kumari 2 for 24).
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