Proteas women edge Ireland opening T20

Cape Town - The Momentum Proteas took a 1-0 lead in the two-match women’s Twenty20 (T20) series when they beat  Ireland by four wickets in a last-ball thriller in Dublin on Monday.

After starting out well and restricting the hosts to 79/4 in 12 overs (Sune Luus 2/24, Moseline Daniels 1/18, Ayabonga Khaka 1/27), the visitors were unable to break the 61-run, fifth-wicket stand between Isobele Joyce (31) and Kim Garth (30) that saw Ireland reach 140/4 at the end of their innings.

South Africa recovered well after the early loss of Trisha Chetty (7) thanks to a 45-run, second-wicket partnership between Mignon du Preez and Laura Wolvaardt (24). The former captain hit an outstanding 55 runs from 41 deliveries to pave the visitors’ way forward, but wickets falling in clumps at crucial intervals gave the home side hope.

South Africa needed 22 runs from the last two overs with Lara Goodall and interim captain, Dinesha Devnarain at the crease. Between them, they scored 13 runs in the 19^th, leaving nine required for the final over. The pressure mounted when Goodall was run out for eight off seven balls, leaving the visitors needing four from the last two deliveries. Devnarain (17) kept a cool head and hit the winning runs, securing a thrilling win for her side in the end.

The second and final match of the T20 series takes place on Wednesday, 3 August.