Lara Goodall scores the first fifty to win the series

• With a dominant performance in the second match, South Africa levelled the T20I series against Ireland.
• Only one combination – the second-wicket stand between Gaby Lewis and Mary Waldron – put on more than 20 runs as Ireland were restricted to 106 for 7.
• She followed up with a four and 12 runs in the first over, giving South Africa the perfect start they could have asked for.

Goodall went on to score 52, her best Twenty20 score, and her first fifty in the format; it’s only her second innings with such a score of more over 30. This inning has caused her butterflies in her career.

With a dominant performance in the second match, South Africa levelled the T20I series against Ireland. South Africa’s attack adjusted well after having trouble finding their timings on a slower surface on Friday, making it more difficult for the host batters to get away. Only one combination – the second-wicket stand between Gaby Lewis and Mary Waldron – put on more than 20 runs as Ireland were restricted to 106 for 7. The six bowlers divided the wickets, and skipper Sune Luus didn’t even have to come herself on since none of them let up and over 6.5 runs per over.

South Africa almost won’t involve their most renowned batter. When South Africa only needed six runs to win after the top three had completed the most of the work, Lauren Wolvaardt, who was down to bat at No. 4, exited the dressing room. Tazmin Brits was bowled in the third over, but South Africa cruised to win with five overs to spare courtesy to a 72-run combination between Lara Goodall and Anneke Bosch.

In T20Is, South Africa seems set on delivering the first over with left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba. She decided to give up eight runs in the first match and nine with this one, but she rebounded to give it up just 15 runs in her next three overs for a total of 1 for 24. Mlaba was more tough to dismiss immediately after the Powerplay, and she enjoyed the rewards of South Africa’s pressure when Lewis attempted to knock her over long-off after 18 balls without a boundary and only got far as Shabnim Ismail, who took an easy grasp. Lewis, the game’s first star, was dismissed following 31 minutes.

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In the first Innings, Ireland struck 18 fours, but a more disciplined South African bowling effort and a stronger fielding performance limited them to just eight in this innings. Gaby Lewis hit two fours in the first over, one off Mlaba and the other off Tumi Sekhukhune, as well as Ireland’s only six, while Leah Paul punished Nadine de Klerk inside the Powerplay, but that was the extent of Ireland’s aggression. From the 7th to a 11th, and again from 13th to the 18th, there were no limits.

Things might not have gone any worse in this game after Goodall was dismissed for a duck in the series opener – only the second time she had opened in T20Is – but they did. Ireland’s first bowler, Celeste Raack, overstepped with her third delivery, giving Goodall a free hit that she mowed down for six. She followed up with a four and 12 runs in the first over, giving South Africa the perfect start they could have asked for.

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Goodall went on to score 52, her highest T20I score, and her maiden fifty in the series; it was only his second innings with a score of more over 30. Her career has just lasted 15 matches, but with Mignon du Preez knocked out of this series, she will play a key role in South Africa’s upcoming plans. Goodall was aggressive in her bowling, especially against spinners, and proactive in her strike-rotation. She reached fifty with a wiggle off the 38th ball she faced, a Jane Maguire short ball. She was fired in the same round, due to a later delivery, but the task was done.