South Africa put one foot in World Cup semis with record-laden show vs Sri Lanka in rain-hit game
South Africa have put a foot inside the Women's ODI World Cup 2025 after a brilliant batting show in a rain-curtailed game against Sri Lanka on Friday, October 17. Playing their fifth match of the tournament at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the Proteas hunted down a DLS-adjusted target of 121 in 14.5 overs with 10 wickets in hand.
The clash was hit with a persistent downpour in Colombo, which has been the case in several other matches at the venue in this World Cup. The venue witnessed two back-to-back no-result outings and this one threatened to be washed out too before it won the race against the time and weather for action to take place.
At the rain interruption, Sri Lanka huffed and puffed to 46/2 in 12 overs with opener Vishmi Gunaratne retired hurt due to a blow to her knee.
However, as the game resumed with 20 overs on offer per side, the Sri Lankan batters tried putting the top gear and go big, knowing that they needed something to bowl as the game would become a 20-over thing. Kavisha Dilhari, Harshitha Madavi, Gunaratne and Nilakshi de Silva used long levers to take Sri Lanka to 105/7 in the 20 overs.
SA batters put strong show
The target for South Africa to win four matches in a row was increased to 121, and they produced a strong show with the willow. The Proteas openers - Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt - chased the target down without breaking a sweat and hunted it down in 14.5 overs.
The two initially took a bit of risks and tread with caution once they got the start, before again taking the aggressive route to finish the clash in quick time. Wolvaardt smashed her 37th ODI fifty, while Brits got to her third ODI half ton with a winning six that sealed the deal. With seven needed for the win and Brits needing eight to get to her milestone, she got a four and then the winning six to take her team home.
This was South Africa's fourth consecutive win in Women's ODI World Cups, which is now their joint highest streak alongside their 2022 run.
Meanwhile, this was also the seventh century stand for the opening wicket between these two, which is now the joint-most in Women's ODIs.
Most century stands for the opening wicket in Women’s ODIs:
10 - Belinda Clark, Lisa Keightley (AUS-W)
7 - Lizelle Lee, Laura Wolvaardt (SA-W)
7 - Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy (AUS-W)
7 - Tazmin Brits, Laura Wolvaardt (SA-W)
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 105/7 in 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 34, Nilakshi de Silva 18; Nonkululeko Mlaba 3-30) lost to South Africa 125 for no loss in 14.5 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 60*, Tazmin Brits 55*) by 10 wickets
