South Africa Dominates Ireland to Secure 1-0 Series Lead
South Africa crushed Ireland by 139 runs after taking a decisive 1-0 lead in their three-match ODI series.
South Africa emerged victorious with career-best performances from Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, and Lizaad Williams, leaving Ireland reeling at 132 all out.
Key Performances and Match Results
South Africa 271 for 9 (Rickelton 91, Stubbs 79, Adair 4-50, Young 3-45) beat Ireland 132 (Dockrell 21, Williams 4-32, Fortuin 2-28, Ngidi 2-35) by 139 runs.
Match Analysis
Career-best Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs, respectively, had career-best ODI scores. a list South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series because to a 4-32 performance from Lizaad Williams. South Africa then crushed Ireland by 139 runs.
A 152-run partnership between Rickelton and Stubbs helped South Africa to 271 in the midst of two mini-collapses, while Williams’ three-for in an eight-over opening stint placed Ireland five down in 14 overs. Finally, Ireland only managed to reach 132.
Rickelton scored most of the first goals as South Africa got off to a cautious start. He smashed two cover drives off Graham Hume and Adair, then cut Mark Adair past point for a boundary on the opening ball of the match.
Between, Hume got an outside edge, but Stephen Doheny, the wicketkeeper, dropped him.
However, Adair turned things around and hit a short ball in the seventh over to take the lead. As Tony de Zorzi attempted to draw, he was captured at deep backward square after receiving a top edge.
A length ball that jagged in from outside off was subsequently given to Temba Bavuma for LBW, but he was given a reprieve when he reviewed and ball-tracking revealed the ball had crossed middle stump.
The South African captain was briefly relieved, though, as Craig Young managed to get past his defense and smash into the stumps with another inducker.
After Adair got Rassie van der Dussen to edge to second slip to end his first over, two wickets in two overs became three in three.
Spin entered the game after the initial powerplay finished, creating further opportunities. Stubbs tried to reverse-sweep Andy Mcbrine but hit it straight to short third where Craig Young shelled a catch in the seventeenth over. After one ball, Rickelton lofted Gavin Hoey, a rookie legspinner, down the wicket and narrowly avoided long-on, who was positioned a few yards inside the ropes and had to reverse course.
In the 22nd over, Hume returned to the attack and was hit over long-on by Stubbs as he reached a half-century partnership with Rickelton. In the 26th over, Rickelton reached his first ODI half-century off 74 balls, and he quickly applied pressure.
Hoey delivered a few of half-volleys, which Rickelton slog-swept over midwicket after lofting him down the ground. In an 18-run over, Hoey cut his length, and Rickelton corrected to guide it past the wicketkeeper for a boundary.
In the following over, Stubbs reached a fifty-run score with 62 runs, and then Rickelton hit Campher with a backward point stroke for another boundary, bringing up the century stand. It took them 73 balls to reach their partnership’s first fifty runs, but it only took them 39 balls to reach their second fifty.
After hitting Craig Young for six overs long-on in the 30th over, which took South Africa to 150, Hoey was swept behind square by Rickelton in the following over.
Rickelton hit his final one even as Stubbs struck McBrine and Adair for boundaries. Rickelton attempted to go after a long and wide delivery from McBrine after facing ten balls without a boundary, but he ended up dragging the ball on and missing a maiden ODI century by nine runs.
Following that dismissal, Adair and Balbirnie combined to take two wickets in his next two overs, igniting another mini-collapse. Before Phehlukwayo was bowled out by a slower ball and eventually spooned it short cover, Stubbs had pushed the fast bowler to Balbirnie at short midwicket.
Another wicket fell to a slower ball as Wiaan Mulder failed to pull Young in time and was caught at deep midwicket. South Africa lost five wickets for 38 runs when Williams skied his pull to deep midwicket, giving Young his third.
After hitting two boundaries off of Young and luring Hume to midwicket with a 28 off of 34 balls, Bjorn Fortuin led South Africa past 250. Then, Ngidi reached 271, taking South Africa to a four and a six.
When the chase started, Ngidi kept pushing South Africa forward by getting Paul Stirling to chop on.
Then, for Ireland, Balbirnie and Curtis Campher rebuilt, adding 35 runs with two batters hitting top-edge sixes, until Williams got an inside edge from Balbirnie that struck the stumps.
Harry Tector hit two exquisite drives off successive balls from Williams, one through point and the other down the ground, before he was caught in front of the following ball.
Then Williams got one to halt on Campher, who ended up delivering a simple grab to cover since he was early in a shot.
Then, rookie Ottneil Baartman took his first wicket in an ODI when he got one to jag in and get past Doheny’s defense. Adair and George Dockrell lingered before the latter managed to edge Ngidi by a hair in the twenty-first over.
Dockrell removed Mulder with a chop four overs later, and in the following over, Fortuin trapped Hoey in front to guarantee that everyone of South Africa’s bowlers had a wicket.
After Williams came back to complete his quota, he dismissed McBrine in his last over and Fortuin wrapped off the victory by having Hume caught at mid-off.
