Proteas women steamroll Scotland at T20 World Cup

South Africa took another step towards the semifinals on Wednesday, coasting to a comfortable 80-run victory over minnows Scotland at the T20 Women’s World Cup in the UAE.

Picking up their second win of the tournament, the Proteas climbed to top spot in their group.

Set a target of 167 runs to win in Dubai, Scotland’s line-up crumbled as they were bowled out for 86 runs, with only Ailsa Lister (12) and Katherin Fraser (14) reaching double figures.

South Africa’s attack was again led by in-form spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, who took 3/12 to climb to the top of the list of the tournament’s wicket takers with eight scalps from three games.

Proteas innings

Earlier, after winning the toss and opting to bat, the SA team took control of the game from the start.

Opening batters Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits took full advantage of the powerplay, racing to a 64-run partnership before Wolvaardt was removed by Fraser in the eighth over.

The skipper, who was given a life when she was dropped by Fraser with just two runs on the board, contributed 40 off 27 balls. In the process, Wolvaardt became South Africa’s highest run scorer in T20 Internationals with 1906 runs in 75 matches.

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Brits went on to hit 43 off 35 before Marizanne Kapp added a quickfire 43 off 24 as she lifted the pace in the second half of the innings, before middle-order batter Sune Luus carried them to 166/5 with a cameo 18-run knock.

The Proteas will face Bangladesh in their last group match in Dubai on Saturday, with various possibilities still in play in terms of which teams will progress to the playoffs.

While they moved to the top of Group B, three other teams still in contention – England, West Indies and Bangladesh – each held a game in hand.