The third ODI match between South Africa and Sri Lanka was just about making history and breaking records. In the end, Sri Lanka broke the records that matter the most. The visitors won the third ODI match by 6 wickets with 33 balls remaining. The series ended 1-1, with both teams earning 3 points. The match of the tour was the third ODI in Potchefstroom.
The Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu scored the highest individual score by a team batting second. She was only 5 runs short from being third women to score 200 runs in an ODI match.
Chamari’s achievement probably holds more weight than the great Belinda Clark’s 229 against Denmark and Amelia Kerr’s 232 against Ireland. Amelia’s knock was impressive as she was only a teenager at the time. Chamari scored 195 not out at a strike rate of 140 against a team that had 3 bowlers in the top 20 ICC ODI bowler rankings.
Sri Lanka, during the tour of South Africa, played as a team, especially in the T20 series. They won the T20 match in Potchefstroom without much help from Chamari. In the third ODI match, Chamari must have been inspired by her teams’ fighting spirit and growth during the South African tour. Chamari’s motivation got her going to ensure Sri Lanka to not only score the highest second innings score in women’s ODI cricket but to also reach the highest run chase in ODI cricket.
Sri Lanka leaves South Africa without dropping a single series. In the 6 matches that were played, the Sri Lankans only lost 2 matches. Hopefully, the next time the Sri Lankans visit South Africa, the male commentators can have more respect and knowledge on the opposition. That is probably wishful thinking as the male commentators do not have sound information on the home team either. They spend more time “coaching” players who can’t hear them over the mic instead of commentate the game for those at home, the other knock of the commentators box is that they also spend more time being overtly critical of players’ in women’s cricket and sharing their personal opinions about players.
The Proteas started the day with celebrations as Ayabonga Khaka was playing her 100th ODI match. Her family members were there, and she could be proud of her performance as she took 2 wickets. She probably should have had that third one, but it was not given. That wicket would end up being crucial as Nilakshika de Silva and Chamari put on an unbeaten match winning 179 partnership. Nilakshika would end up scoring her highest score of 50.
This was a series of captains leading from the front, one being very experienced in Chamari and the other being fairly new at her role in Laura Wolvaardt. While Chamari deservedly won the player of the match in the third ODI, Proteas Women Captain Laura took the player of the series award. Laura scored the highest individual score by a South African in ODI cricket in that third ODI.
In the way Laura was striking, it probably gave her former Proteas teammates Lizelle Lee and Dané van Niekerk some FOMO as they were in attendance. Laura scored 184 runs from 147 balls. She struck 23 boundaries and went over the rope 4 times. This was the first time a South African batter scored more than 150 runs in an ODI match.
Laura stats did not end there during the series, she also became the highest run scorer for South Africa in ODI cricket as she passed former South African captain and middle-order batter Mignon van der Merwe.
The third ODI match at JB Marks Oval deserved a full house as it had all the entertainment that a cricket match needs regardless of gender.
Surely, Chamari will want to pack the Potchefstroom pitch with her as they head to the ICC T20 World Cup qualifiers in Abu Dhabi. Sri Lanka won both the T20 and ODI matches in Potchefstroom during the tour.
The South African skipper will have a few other concerns for herself apart from losing both matches in Potchefstroom. Laura is yet to win a series in 2024 as captain. She has lost both T20 series against Sri Lanka and Australia. South Africa was unable to defeat Sri Lanka in an ODI series as it ended with a draw after losing to Australia earlier in the year. There was no Test match against Sri Lanka, unfortunately, and the Proteas women did go down to Australia in that once off Test match in Perth.
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