Miane Smit, playing only her fourth T20I, smashed her maiden ton to set the stage for South Africa’s 80-run win over Zimbabwe, and stretch the series lead to 4-0, at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, on Thursday.
Electing to bat, South Africa took the early momentum courtesy Smit and Anneke Bosch who combined to hammer 74 runs for the opening stand, in only 51 balls.
Even after Bosch departed in the ninth over, South Africa continued with their aggressive approach.
While Smit remained on the offensive, she found handy company in Annerie Dercksen and Kayla Reyneke, who provided the breezy blitz.
Nondumiso Shangase struck a boundary in the last over to help South Africa go past the 200-run mark.
Miane Smit, playing only her fourth T20I, smashed her maiden ton to set the stage for South Africa’s 80-run win over Zimbabwe, and stretch the series lead to 4-0, at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, on Thursday.
Electing to bat, South Africa took the early momentum courtesy Smit and Anneke Bosch who combined to hammer 74 runs for the opening stand, in only 51 balls. While Bosch played second-fiddle during her 24-ball stay, Smit was especially ruthless against Christine Mutasa, smashing her for 17 runs in the eighth over.
Even after Bosch departed in the ninth over, South Africa continued with their aggressive approach. While Smit remained on the offensive, she found handy company in Annerie Dercksen and Kayla Reyneke, who provided the breezy blitz.
Smit brought up her century in the 19th over, off only 58 balls, with a boundary off Michelle Mavunga. She departed later in the last ball of that over after having struck 17 boundaries and a six in her knock. Nondumiso Shangase struck a boundary in the last over to help South Africa go past the 200-run mark.
In response, like it has been the case all through the series, despite a spirited show by the Zimbabwe batters, they never looked in contention of threatening the visitors. The openers departed cheaply in the powerplay, and they couldn’t get the momentum required to chase down the target.
Kendis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza and Josephine Nkomo provided the solidity through the middle overs, but couldn’t even march on at run-a-ball. Mavunga struck a couple of boundaries and a six enroute to her 13-ball 25, and helped Zimbabwe pick some pace later in the innings. But the game was well and truly settled much before she was cleaned up by Caitlin Wyngaard off the penultimate ball of the innings.
