The Proteas Women face a must-win contest against Bangladesh in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE on Saturday.
Laura Wolvaardt’s team bounced back from a defeat to England with a crushing victory over Scotland a couple of days ago to maintain their interest in the competition.
However, they will now need to repeat the act over the Asian nation if they are to reach their third consecutive T20 World Cup semi-final.
Bangladesh will certainly be no pushovers after they won their first match at the T20 World Cup last week.
The Proteas will be equally wary due after losing to Bangladesh in Benoni last December.
Young 17-year-old leg-break bowler Shorna Akter, who claimed a five-wicket haul at Willowmoore Park, will once again pose a major threat to the Proteas in the spinfriendly conditions of the Dubai International Stadium.
The Proteas finished runners-up in last year’s T20 World Cup on home soil, and are aiming to go one step further. But star all-rounder
Marizanne Kapp is focused solely on the immediate challenge ahead.
“We have to take one game at a time. Bangladesh are not going to be easy in these conditions,” Kapp said.
West Indies and England still have to play each other, so there’s a lot to play for.
“We have to keep on improving, especially if you play the bigger teams... (Totals in the) 120s are not going to be enough.”
Kapp was at her brilliant best in the victory over Scotland on Wednesday where she hit a quick-fire 43 off 26 balls to lift the Proteas to their highest total of the tournament thus far. She feels that the South Africans need to maintain their attacking philosophy if they are to achieve success in the spin friendly surfaces.
“The wickets are going to get slower. So, we need to keep adapting and keep taking bowlers on,” Kapp said. “I feel like in these conditions,
if you just let the slow bowlers bowl at you, you are going to get into big trouble.
“So you have to keep on being aggressive.”
Kapp has the experience of playing in all the major franchise T20 leagues around the world, but her passion to achieve success with the Proteas remained unmatched.
Cape Times