Tunnicliffe, van Niekerk star as South Africa seal T20I series

South Africa sealed the three-match T20I series with another thumping 65-run win in the second T20I at Boland Park, Paarl. Faye Tunnicliffe's fifty combined with some belligerent striking by Dane van Niekerk, Marizanne Kapp and Chloe Tryon pushed South Africa to 201/5 before they contained Ireland to just 136/3 with some economical bowling.

Opting to bat once more upon winning the toss, South Africa's openers gave them a strong start as they raced to 51/0 in the PowerPlay. The pair were separated when Sune Luus fell to Aimee Maguire in the 10th over but a 38-run stand between Tunnicliffe and Laura Wolvaardt kept them going before a destructive 47-run partnership between van Niekerk and Kapp powered them to a strong finish. Maguire ended up as the pick of the Irish bowlers with figures of 3-43.

In response, Ireland started slowly with the first four overs yielding just 15 runs. Gaby Lewis got them going with three consecutive boundaries in the following over but they could only manage 31 runs off the PowerPlay. Tryon made an instant impact with the ball as she dismissed both openers in the very next over. Even as Orla Prendergast and Leah Paul shared a 76-run stand, they failed to keep up with the tall asking rate. Paul fell to Nonkululeko Mlaba in the 17th over before Ireland eventually finished with just 136 in their 20 overs, falling 65 runs short of the target.

Brief Scores: South Africa 201/5 in 20 overs (Faye Tunnicliffe 51, Dane van Niekerk 41; Aimee Maguire 3-43) beat Ireland 136/3 in 20 overs (Orla Prendergast 51*, Leah Paul 40; Chloe Tryon 2-24) by 65 runs.