South Africa proved to be too strong for West Indies as they romped to a 10-wicket win to begin their campaign in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on a rousing note in Dubai on Friday. Asked to bat first, West Indies were restricted to 118 for six but the total would have been far less than that, had it not been for Stafanie Taylor’s unbeaten 41-ball 44. For South Africa, left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba returned career-best figures of 4/29, while Marizanne Kapp ended with 2/14. In reply, South Africa completed the task with 13 balls to spare.

Skipper Laura Wolvaardt (59 off 55 balls) and Tazmin Brits (57 off 52 balls), who had earlier in the day pulled off an excellent catch at cover point, got the job done easily for last edition’s runners-up.

Earlier, South Africa bowlers maintained a tight line and length to force the West Indians into back foot, and the day’s first breakthrough came about when Marizanne Kapp had Hayley Matthews (10 off 11 balls) caught behind.

Qiana Joseph’s painstaking stay in the middle ended when she was bowled by left-arm spinner Mlaba in the fifth over.

West Indies slipped to 32/3 when Kapp dismissed Deandra Dottin (13 off 11 balls). From there, the Windies could not score enough runs to challenge their opponents.

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