AGENCY
DUBAI: South Africa tuned up for the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2017 with victory in the warm-up match in Colombo on Sunday. Captain Dane van Niekerk led South Africa to a resounding six-wicket win over India at the P. Sara Stadium, grabbing four for 20 with her leg-spin bowling and helped dismiss India for 155 in 48.3 overs.
The target was attained in 34.5 overs with Marizanne Kapp (45 not out) and Trisha Chetty (38) showing fine form for South Africa, which is the favourite from Group B in the upcoming 10-team tournament that runs run from 7-21 February. India, which is the favourite from Group A that also consists of Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Thailand, did not have a good outing as captain Mithali Raj was the highest scorer with 26 in the face of sustained pressure from the South Africa bowlers backed by some fine fielding. Captain van Niekerk was delighted at the victory and felt her team was already adjusting well to the conditions. “India is a high-quality side and to beat it so comprehensively gives us a lot of satisfaction. The pitch here was helping the ball turn and I felt our team did very well to adapt to the conditions,” she said. (PTI)
