Khaka rescues Proteas in World Cup opener

SOUTH AFRICA: 207 ALL OUT

(Kapp 42, Wolvaardt 41, Trisna 3/35)

BANGLADESH: 175 ALL OUT

(Akhter 34, Sultana 29, Khaka 4/32, Klaas 2/36) South Africa won by 32 runs

WORLD Cup folklore is littered with heroes emerging from the shadows to take centre stage. Ayabonga Khaka imprinted her name in those pages yesterday.

The silent assassin of the Proteas Women’s team, who is often overlooked when the bright lights shine on the likes of new-ball pair Marizanne Kapp and Shabnim Ismail, will not be hiding behind the curtain anymore.

Her haul of 4/32 saved Sune Luus’ side from an embarrassing defeat to World Cup debutants Bangladesh.

“We are proud of Ayabonga Khaka. She is our golden arm at the moment,” Luus said post-match. For plenty of the contest it was the No 2 ranked side in the world that looked like the rookies though.

The Proteas’ batting effort was mediocre.

Although Lizelle Lee is expected to return to the opener’s slot at the expense of Tazmin Brits for Friday’s clash against Pakistan, which should relieve the pressure on Laura Wolvaardt (41 off 52 balls), there remain concerns around the No 3 position.

Lara Goodall (12 off 43 balls) will need to improve on her strike rate, that hovered on a lowly 27.90 throughout her innings, if the left-hander plays on Friday.

South Africa cannot rely on its all-rounders Kapp (42 off 45) and Chloe Tryon (39 off 40) to play catch-up in every game, especially with tougher contests against the likes of Australia, England and India on the horizon.

“We never really got a start with the bat. The way Kapp and Tryon batted to get us over 200 was brilliant,” Luus said.

With only 207 runs to defend, the bowling unit needed their skipper to set the type of attacking fields that could transfer the pressure. Bangladesh’s openers Shamima Sultana (27) and Sharmin Akhter (34) do not encounter Ismail’s speed or Kapp’s swing regularly, and would have been daunted at the prospect. Instead of being bombarded with a ring of fielders, they were allowed to settle in as numerous edges flew through the vacant third slip region.

Then Khaka turned the game on its head with three wickets in two overs.

“We couldn’t wait to go in the middle and do the job for the team and we did it. I stuck to my lines and lengths and it worked,” Khaka said.