04|08|26

Western Province batter Faye Tunnicliffe produced a match-winning innings of 116 to inspire SA Emerging Women to a 38-run victory over Bangladesh Emerging Women in the third One-Day match. The win secured the series 2-0 for the hosts after the opening fixture was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

SA Emerging introduced a new opening partnership of Diara Ramlakan and Simone Lourens, but the experiment got off to a disappointing start. Both openers were dismissed early, leaving the hosts struggling at 18/2.

Bangladesh tightened their grip on the contest by claiming another four wickets for just 39 runs. Miané Smit, Yasmeen Khan, Nondumiso Shangase and Leah Jones all fell cheaply as SA Emerging slumped to 57/6 after 15 overs.

Eliz-Mari Marx and Oluhle Siyo were unable to build meaningful partnerships, departing with the score on 108/8. However, Seshnie Naidu and Caitlin Wyngaard provided valuable support as Tunnicliffe mounted a remarkable rescue effort. 

Tunnicliffe struck a superb 116 from just 95 deliveries, an innings featuring 14 fours and two sixes, to guide SA Emerging to 228 all out. Wyngaard remained unbeaten on 24 and was the only other batter to score more than 20 runs.

Bangladesh's opening bowlers, Disha Biswas and Habiba Islam, were outstanding with the ball, sharing seven wickets between them.

In reply, Eliz-Mari Marx made the perfect start by dismissing Murshida Khatun early. Despite that breakthrough, Bangladesh recovered well to reach 124/3 and appeared to be in control of the chase.

The momentum shifted dramatically as Bangladesh lost their remaining seven wickets for just 66 runs, eventually being bowled out for 190.

Marx, Wyngaard and Siyo each claimed two wickets, while former SA Under-19 teammates Nthabiseng Nini, Miané Smit and Seshnie Naidu chipped in with one wicket apiece to seal a memorable series victory for SA Emerging.

The teams will now turn their attention to the T20 series, with the opening match scheduled for 6 August at Kingsmead Stadium in eThekwini.