Kapp, Wolvaardt shine to sink West Indies by nine wickets in second ODI

West Indies were in trouble early after winning the toss and opting to bat first. Hayley Matthews misjudged the straight ball from Kapp in her very first over and had to trudge to the pavilion on three. Kapp and Ismail bowled some tidy lines, denying West Indies any chance to recover in the power play. Overwhelmed by the dot ball pressure, Kyshona Knight, who survived 30 balls and could only score five runs decided to whip Kapp over mid-wicket, but Luus took a sharp catch to reduce the hosts for 16 for two by the end of the power play.

Kapp continued to ball her fiery spell even after the power play, and she was rewarded with a wicket of West Indies danger woman, Deandra Dottin for just one. From the precarious position of 18 for three, Chedean Nation and Kycia Knight tried to uplift the West Indies as Kycia hit the first boundary of the innings in the 12th over. The pair added vital 31 runs for West Indies, but both were dismissed by Luss in back-to-back overs.

Shabika Gajnabi and Qiana Joseph tried to add some much-needed stroke play in the mix for the hosts, but Gajnabi’s wicket in the 27th over led to a mini-collapse for West Indies. They lost three wickets for just four runs and were reduced to 88 for 8 by the end of the 30th over. Stand-in captain Anisa Mohammed then batted patiently to take her team beyond the 100-run mark. Ayabonga Khaka came back to clean up the tail and West Indies were bowled out for 120 in the 45th over.

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In reply, Lizelle Lee showed intent with two boundaries in the opening over of Shamilia Connell. The South African opening pair of Lee and Wolvaardt were brutal against Connell and her bowling opening partner Chinelle Henry as they amassed 30 runs in the first five overs. The introduction of Matthews in the sixth over did not change the course of action for Wolvaardt as Matthews’ first delivery went for four runs.

Matthews made a commendable comeback in the next over to get rid of the player of the match from the previous encounter, Lee, but that just paired Wolvaardt with Lara Goodall in the middle. The duo changed the gear after the power play, with Wolvaardt taking the lead. She brought her 20th half-century in ODIs in the 20th over. Wolvaardt and Goodall’s partnership of 86 runs made sure there are no more hiccups in the chase for South Africa.

Wolvaardt remained unbeaten on 71 and she was ably supported by Goodall who chipped in with 25 off 51 balls. Wolvaardt struck two back-to-back boundaries in Dottin’s over to take South Africa to the comprehensive victory over West Indies by nine wickets and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Brief Score: West Indies 120 all out in 44.2 overs (Kycia Knight 22, Anisa Mohammed 15*; Marizanne Kapp 3/24) lost to South Africa 121/1 in 25.4 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 71*, Lara Goodall 25*; Hayley Matthews 1/13) by nine wickets. POTM: Laura Wolvaardt