South Africa Dominates Ireland in 1st ODI with a 139-Run Victory

South Africa put in a stellar show in the first ODI against Ireland and had a thumping win of 139 runs in the series played by Ireland v South Africa in the UAE. South Africa’s batting looked absolutely imperishable as Proteas won that game quite handsomely while Ireland’s batting failed to deliver. Ryan Rickelton was the star man who grabbed the Player of the Match after an impeccable innings of 91 runs that helped South Africa to win the game, while Ireland’s batting failed to come good in the hands of Proteas.

South Africa’s Innings: Rickelton Shines
South Africa’s innings was marred by early wickets. But wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Rickelton’s 91 runs off 102 balls did the trick, a bang of 89.22 strike rate with 10 fours and 2 sixes. Such a contribution from Rickelton on the back allowed South Africa to find its feet after an indifferent start and provided it an opportunity of reaching up to a respectable score of 271-9 in their 50 overs.

South Africa’s early squabbles started early in the contest when they lost Tony de Zorzi for 12 and then captain Temba Bavuma for 10 as he fell victim to Craig Young’s tight bowling. Rassie van der Dussen’s stay at the crease lasted mere minutes as he fell for a duck off Mark Adair, sending South Africa to 39-3.

Whereas wickets tumbled in the top order, Rickelton found a helpful ally in 79 scored by Tristan Stubbs from 86 deliveries, inclusive of 8 fours and one six as well. The strike rate for Stubbs was 91.86 and thus pushed South Africa past 150.

With that sort of temperament, once Rickelton was dismissed by Andy McBrine in the 35th over, Stubbs continued his aggressive approach. His wicket at 198-5, however marked a turning point as the lower middle order failed to carry on the momentum.

Lower Order Resilience
Another batting mainstay, Wiaan Mulder, who made 11, nor Andile Phehlukwayo, dismissed for a single, could add much to the total with Craig Young and Mark Adair keeping things tight. Bjorn Fortuin and Gerald Coetzee added important lower-order runs, with Fortuin scoring 28 off 34 balls before being dismissed by Graham Hume.

Lungi Ngidi’ s unbridled 20 runs and Ottneil Baartman’s 3* proved enough for South Africa to reach a competitive total of 271-9. The South African innings was very poor bowling from Ireland’s end other than Craig Young who accounted for 4 wickets for 53 runs, followed by Mark Adair with 4-50.

Ireland’s Response: Struggling With South Africa’s Pace
In response, Ireland’s chase went disastrous as they lost their skipper, Paul Stirling, for just 2 runs in the very first over faced against Lungi Ngidi. Thereafter, the batting lineup of Ireland continued crumbling under the bowling pressure of South Africa.

Andrew Balbirnie, who scored 20 off 28 balls, was Ireland’s best at the top order, but Lizaad Williams bowled him over. Harry Tector did show some semblance of resistance to the pressure; he made 29 off 30 deliveries with two boundaries and a six, only to get leg-before bapped by Williams.

Neither Curtis Campher, who scored 20 off 36, nor Stephen Doheny, dismissed for a mere 3, gave Ireland the much-needed partnership to chase the target. As early as the 14th over, Ireland was staring at an all-out collapse at 61-5, as their middle order began to crack under South Africa’s bowlers’ pressure.

Bowling by South Africa: A Complete Performance
The South African bowlers were quite aggressive through the Ireland innings. Williams was the pick of the bowlers as he took 4 wickets for just 32 runs in his 10 overs, troubling the Irish batters with incessant runs and the accuracy of his pace. His earlier breakthroughs — Balbirnie, Campher, and Tector — did not give much hope for Ireland.

Lungi Ngidi was economical and took valuable wickets with 2/35 in six overs, which was including the key wicket of Stirling. His left-arm spin was effective as well, and Bjorn Fortuin ended with 2/20, getting rid of Graham Hume and Gavin Hoey.

Ottneil Baartman completed the innings of Ireland while bowling by finishing off the over with the wicket of Stephen Doheny with the maiden delivery and getting a catch off Mark Adair’s miscued shot. The tail end of Ireland did not stand well for South Africa, who registered a disciplined bowling as they lost all their wickets in a mere 31.5 overs of play, scoring only 132.

Easy Win for South Africa
South Africa completely dominated the batting and bowling to make sure of an easy win during the first ODI match. Ryan Rickelton’s anchoring innings was supported well by the aggressive approach he showed while making their total of 271. The batting of Ireland was tumbled by the pace attack of Williams and Ngidi.

A 139-run victory sends South Africa off to an early lead in the series and gives this side a great head start into the remaining games. Ireland was very effective with the ball and must regroup themselves and come up with an effective batting plan if they hope to challenge South Africa in the remaining games.

The Stars of the Match and Moving Forward
Man of the Match: Ryan Rickelton’s unbeaten 91 was the perfect treat for the visitors as he displayed absolute skill with a true plethora of different shots when it mattered the most.
Bowling Masterclass: A big hand came in from Lizaad Williams in breaking down the batting order of Ireland with his 4-32, which was subsequently supported by Ngidi and supportive efforts from Fortuin and Baartman.
South Africa will look to press their advantage in the series forth while Ireland will need to fine-tune their batting side if they are going to take the Proteas on in the next game. The second ODI will be a crux test as Ireland will look to level the series.

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