ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023: Sri Lanka shock hosts South Africa in World Cup opener

An inspired bowling performance from Sri Lanka produced a shock win over hosts South Africa in the opening match of the Women's T20 World Cup in Cape Town.

In a tense finish, South Africa needed 13 to win from the final over in pursuit of 130 for victory, but buckled under the pressure to fall three runs short.

Spinner Inoka Ranaweera took 3-18 as a packed Newlands crowd was silenced.

Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 129-4 was set up by captain Chamari Atapattu's 68 from 49 balls and 17-year-old Vishmi Gunaratne's supporting 35.

Sri Lanka started slowly, reaching just 28 after the powerplay after a fearsome opening spell from quicks Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail, but Atapattu and Vishmi added 86 for the second wicket - Sri Lanka's highest partnership for any wicket in T20s against South Africa.

It still seemed a below-par total but Sri Lanka, who have not played an international match since October, used the conditions to their advantage with their spinners taking seven of the eight wickets to fall on a slow pitch with big boundaries.

The momentum shifted throughout South Africa's chase, with captain Sune Luus looking to steer her side to victory before she was crucially stumped for 28 in the 19th over.

But for South Africa, the impact of the defeat in front of a home crowd was evident as the last-wicket pair of Ayabonga Khaka and Nonkululeko Mlaba sunk to their knees in dismay.

Sri Lanka will be hoping for consecutive victories when they take on Bangladesh on Sunday, while South Africa will be aiming to bounce back in a key encounter against New Zealand on Monday.

Hosts disappoint after controversial build-up

South Africa's World Cup preparation was shrouded in controversy and debate when the selectors dropped their captain and star all-rounder Dane van Niekerk for not meeting the standard time for a two-kilometre run.

They would have been desperate to silence the noise with an opening win, thereby proving there may not have been any need for controversy at all.

Instead, the debate has just got louder.

But South Africa - and the rest of the competition - will be hoping the result does not deter the crowd, who turned up in their thousands and lit up Newlands with song, colour, dance and joy throughout the entire match, even when it went against their team.

Ismail's first ball was greeted with an exhilarating roar, the grass banks packed with schoolchildren erupted when Nadine de Klerk took the first wicket, and every boundary in the chase was cheered like a winning moment.

There was plenty to be optimistic about off the field, but on it, there is one statistic that many will not want to read.

The most runs scored in South Africa in successful T20 run chases have come from three batters who could have been out there, but were not: Lizelle Lee, Van Niekerk and Mignon du Preez.

'One game doesn't define us' - what they said

South Africa captain Sune Luus on BBC Test Match Special: "First of all, thank you to the crowd, I hope you keep coming back and enjoying women's cricket.

"Sri Lanka had a good partnership and we lacked that in our batting innings. I thought chasing 130 was a par score and that 140-150 would have been a good score on that pitch. I don't think Sri Lanka ran away with the game.

"One game doesn't define us. The World Cup has a long way to go. Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail were exceptional today and there are lots of positives going into the next games."

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Atapattu on BBC Test Match Special: "The wicket was really good for batting. I would definitely have batted first.

"We have shocked big teams before and we have done it again. We want to get to the semi-finals. I hope we can get there because it is my eighth World Cup and I haven't been there yet so I want to be there with my team.

"I really liked that the crowd supported both teams. That is a really good thing for women's cricket."

This article originally appeared on BBC Sport

Photo: BBC Sport