Proteas' inconsistency leads to another T20 defeat

The Proteas' inconsistency came back to bite them once again on Saturday afternoon with Sri Lanka claiming a seven-wicket victory in the second T20 International in Potchefstroom to level the three-match series at 1-1.

Having dominated the first match on Wednesday night in Benoni, South Africa’s batting fell to pieces after the tourists had gifted them numerous opportunities in the first half of their innings.

South Africa, missing skipper Laura Wolvaardt with illness, chose to bat first and having reached 84/2 at the halfway point would understandably have expected a significant charge to finish off the innings.

Instead, they slumped to 138/8, leaving the door open for the Sri Lankans. 

Eighteen-year-old opener Vishmi Gunaratne top-scored with an unbeaten 65, sharing a partnership of 76 with Kivisha Dilhari, who made 45 not out, to help their side reach the target with seven balls to spare. 

Sri Lanka had faced a similar situation in their innings to what the Proteas had earlier, having lost three wickets for 62 runs in 12 overs, but Gunaratne who hit nine fours and a six and Dilhari, whose innings featured six boundaries, were able to forge the kind of stand the hosts couldn’t. 

Once more the Proteas were unable to function when either Wolvaardt or Marizanne Kapp don’t produce and it must be concerning for the brains trust that that continues to be the case.

Anneke Bosch top-scored for the hosts with 50, her fourth half-century in this format, but she will admit she was lucky to reach that landmark after being dropped four times. 

She and Kapp put on 58 for the second wicket, but once they were separated it was the Sri Lankans who asserted control.

Kapp scored 44, but unlike Wednesday when she and Wolvaardt combined for a 116-run second-wicket stand, on Saturday there was no such thing from the Proteas with stand-in captain Nadine de Klerk’s 16 not out the next highest score. 

Sri Lanka of course deserve credit for their discipline, with the veteran medium pacer Achni Kulasuriya taking 2/26. 

However this was a defeat that reflects poorly on the Proteas, who continue to struggle with consistency. This was their eighth loss in their last 14 T20 Internationals and while they can claim they are experimenting, the fact that it is the same players that they must continue to rely on if they want to win is very worrying ahead of a World Cup. 

The final T20 International will be played in East London on Wednesday.