Bangla Desh won the toss and Joty decided to bat. From the outset South Africa kept things quiet enough. And there seemed no disposition for haste from the batsmen. After forty overs they had meandered to 2/150. One wondered what the plan was. Joty had shown some signs of life with a comparatively lively 32. She fell next ball to Mlaba, and Shorna Akter strode to the middle. This teenage leg-spinner is not so much a breath of fresh air as a sprightly hurricane, and she set about the bowling with all the enthusiasm of a kitten with a new toy. At the other end Sharmin Akter seemed lost in a daydream. When she wandered out of her crease and failed to make it back in time it was almost a relief for the spectators. She had made a careful 50 from 75; but urgency was now required.
When Ritu Moni emerged at an unaccustomed no.8, a wonder of change came over the game. Their partnership lasted 18 balls and produced 37. Shorna completed a brilliant unbeaten 51 from 35, including three sixes. Until tonight, apparently the entire history of Bangla Desh women’s cricket had seen just twenty sixes. There are now 23, and Shorna has four of them. She hits hard and often, mostly straight down the ground. The Bangla Plan A seemed to be to compile a careful 200 and hope. As it was, South Africa now face a target of 233. They have successfully chased far more than that; but against the spin quintuplet this will not be the walk in the park Wolvaardt might have hoped for.
The Proteas’ crest fell with Nahida’s first delivery to Tasmin Brits, who hit a carrom ball straight back to the bowler. Wolvaardt and Bosch set about the task and were cruising at 1/58 before the captain was run out. A clatter of wickets fell and suddenly the Proteas were staring defeat in the face at 5/78. Thereafter Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk pushed on, holding their nerve, and secured a narrow win. The eventual margin was three wickets, with three deliveries in hand. The Bangla women had in truth let victory slip through their fingers with a number of missed chances. South Africa heaved a huge sigh of relief. The only consolation for the defeated was the reflection that nobody will take them lightly in the future.
Slow and steady was also the watchword for Sri Lanka, facing New Zealand at Colombo. Although 0/52 from the power play was, if anything, rather quicker than that. This they owed to their star player Athapaththu. Thereafter progress slowed, as the home side preferred to keep wickets in hand. They lost both openers, but not before posting a century opening stand. At forty overs the score was 2/178. Somebody would have to get a move on; but with eight wickets in the shed a variety of auditions were possible. The jackpot was rung by Nilakshi Silva, who electrified the ground with a whirlwind half-century. Her unbeaten 55 occupied just 28 balls, and meant that Sri Lanka finished with a challenging total of 6/258.
Silva swung repeatedly across the line, sweeping or pulling the ball off her stumps and hitting with tremendous power. For the White Ferns it was a fielding performance to forget. Missed stumpings, missed catches, missed reviews: all told a tale of dismal woe. They have been horribly out of form thus far, and will need to play at their best to climb the mountain against the local spin battery. The good news is that the pitch has been newly relaid and looks excellent for batting.
The bad news was the weather, which closed in with tropical rapidity and prevented any more play. New Zealand are now on the brink. Sri Lanka, with just two draws and two losses, are probably out of the reckoning. More rain may have saved England’s bacon tonight. After 25 overs against Pakistan they are hanging on by their fingernails at 7/79. Fatima Sana won the toss and sent England in; and she was unstoppable. The pitch has a little seam movement in it: enough to lose both openers in the first quarter hour. England have had the luck of the devil thus far. It is of course possible that they might have climbed out of the crevasse they find themselves in. But if the rain does not relent – and it shows no sign of stopping any time soon – then they have been blessed by fortune yet again.