South Africa Women once again put on a clinical show with both bat and ball to crush Bangladesh Women by six wickets in the fifth and final One-Day International to complete a 5-0 series whitewash. Opting to bowl first on Monday (May 14) in Bloemfontein, South Africa were on top of the contest right from the word go.
New-ball bowlers Shabnim Ismail and Marizanne Kapp combined to reduce the visitors to 23 for 3 by the 11th over before the Bangladesh skipper arrested the slide. Rumana Ahmed bided her time and built a crucial 85-run stand for the fourth wicket with opener Shamima Sultana. But with the run rate hovering just above three after 35 overs, Bangladesh needed the settled pair to carry on and press the accelerator. But Masabata Klaas destroyed their hopes by getting rid of Shamima for 53.
The wicket was followed by another fruitful stand of 48 with Rumana taking charge after going past fifty. But what followed suit was a monumental collapse as the visitors crumbled from 156 for 4 to 166 for 9 at the end of the 50-over mark. A target of 167 was never going to test the strong South African order as the openers got into the attack right from the outset during the chase.
Lizelle Lee was at her destructive best as she added 79 for the opening wicket with Laura Wolvaardt. Khadija Tul Kubra then gave the hosts a minor scare by snaring Lee and Trisha Chetty in the space of three deliveries but Wolvaardt remained unbeaten until the end to ensure there were no hiccups in the chase. She remained unbeaten on 70 as South Africa completed the win with 15 overs to spare. Lee was named the player of the series for scoring 244 runs.
Brief scores: Bangladesh Women 166/9 in 50 overs (Rumana Ahmed 74, Shamima Sultana 53; Shabnim Ismail 3-17, Marizanne Kapp 2-21) lost to South Africa Women 169/4 in 35 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 70*, Lizelle Lee 44; Khadija Tul Kubra 3-37) by six wickets
