South Africa responded quickly to their setback in the first T20I with a commanding performance in the second T20I against Ireland at the Pembroke Cricket Club in Dublin on Monday, winning by eight wickets (June 6). South Africa leveled the three-match series with one game remaining after restricting Ireland to 106/7 courtesy to disciplined bowling. Lara Goodall's 40-ball 52 helped them reach the goal in 15 overs.
Lara Goodall, who had been dismissed for a golden duck in the previous game, started the chase off with a six and a four off Celeste Raack in the first over, while Tazmin Brits hit three fours in two overs.
Despite being bowled for 15 off 10 by Arlene Kelly, Goodall continued to hit boundaries and helped South Africa reach 50 by the end of the powerplay.
There were a handful of quiet overs, but nothing to alarm South Africa about because they were well within the needed pace. In the 11th over, Anneke Bosch and Goodall raised a half-century cooperation, and the borders began to flow again. Goodall didn't make it to the end, falling soon after reaching a 38-ball fifty, but Bosch made sure there were no interruptions by hitting the winning boundary to stay unbeaten on 32 off 37.
Gaby Lewis and Leah Paul, who chose to bat first, got Ireland off to a fantastic start with two fours each in the first three overs. Shabnim Ismail, who had previously bowled a maiden to Paul, then dismissed her leg-before in her next over. However, Lewis continued to bat well, hitting a six off Nadine de Klerk and a four off Tumi Sekhukhune to help Ireland finish the powerplay at 35/1. The next four overs, though, yielded just 18 runs, and Nonkululeko Mlaba took the crucial wicket of Lewis to put Ireland at bay.
In the second half of Ireland's innings, wickets dropped at regular intervals, preventing them from setting themselves up to achieve a competitive score. Mary Waldron had a 31-ball 24, while Rachel Delaney at No. 7 had the next best contribution. As Ireland dropped to 85/6 in the 18th over, Sekhukhune took the wickets of Arlene Kelly and Sophie MacMahon, while Anneke Bosch dismissed Waldron. Before being removed in the 19th over, Rachel Delaney hit a boundary off de Klerk, while Celeste Raack hit a four against Ismail to assist Ireland pass the 100-run milestone.
South Africa 107/2 in 15 overs defeated Ireland 106/7 in 20 overs by 8 wickets.