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SOPHIE Devine dazzled with bat and ball to help New Zealand overpower South Africa by 22 runs the first match of the day in Galle. Devine scored a well-paced 59 off 46 balls and then picked up two wickets during South Africa’s faltering chase. (Scores: New Zealand Women 151 for 5 (Devine 59, Mackay 49, Benade 2-15) beat South Africa Women 129 for 9 (van Niekerk 34*, Browne 3-12) by 22 runs Teams have preferred to field first in the tournament so far and South Africa’s decision after winning the toss appeared correct as Susan Benade got rid of both New Zealand openers by the fourth over with only 24 runs on the board.
Devine, along with Frances Mackay, played out the next few overs carefully as New Zealand made slow progress to reach 44 in nine overs. The batsmen, however, changed gears in the tenth over with the introduction of off-spinner Sunette Loubser.
Devine smashed the bowler for a six and a four off consecutive balls to take 13 runs off the over and hit two boundaries in the next. Mackay, after playing second fiddle to Devine for a while, also joined in with three consecutive boundaries off Dane van Niekerk.
Devine brought up her first T20 fifty with a six off Loubser but was dismissed in the same over, the 16th of the innings, after sharing a 94-run stand with Mackay that came off 44 balls. Mackay continued to attack and her 49 helped New Zealand score 151 – the highest total in the tournament thus far.
Benade led a counter-attack during the chase after South Africa lost the openers early to Erin Bermingham, but she became the first of Nicola Browne’s three wickets in three overs, effectively ending the contest. van Niekerk resisted with an unbeaten 34 but she ran out of partners as South Africa finished 22 runs short.
Devine, who was selected for the tournament after spending a year playing with New Zealand hockey team, was named the Player-of-the-Match.
“It has given me a lot of confidence now that I can perform again at the international stage. It has been a wee while. So it is really pleasing for me to get some runs and also a couple of wickets,” Devine said. (ESPN Cricinfo)
Devine, along with Frances Mackay, played out the next few overs carefully as New Zealand made slow progress to reach 44 in nine overs. The batsmen, however, changed gears in the tenth over with the introduction of off-spinner Sunette Loubser.
Devine smashed the bowler for a six and a four off consecutive balls to take 13 runs off the over and hit two boundaries in the next. Mackay, after playing second fiddle to Devine for a while, also joined in with three consecutive boundaries off Dane van Niekerk.
Devine brought up her first T20 fifty with a six off Loubser but was dismissed in the same over, the 16th of the innings, after sharing a 94-run stand with Mackay that came off 44 balls. Mackay continued to attack and her 49 helped New Zealand score 151 – the highest total in the tournament thus far.
Benade led a counter-attack during the chase after South Africa lost the openers early to Erin Bermingham, but she became the first of Nicola Browne’s three wickets in three overs, effectively ending the contest. van Niekerk resisted with an unbeaten 34 but she ran out of partners as South Africa finished 22 runs short.
Devine, who was selected for the tournament after spending a year playing with New Zealand hockey team, was named the Player-of-the-Match.
“It has given me a lot of confidence now that I can perform again at the international stage. It has been a wee while. So it is really pleasing for me to get some runs and also a couple of wickets,” Devine said. (ESPN Cricinfo)
