Proteas Women fall short in record ODI run-chase despite Tazmin Brits century
The Proteas Women fell to a 15-run defeat in their ODI tri-series opener against India in Colombo despite a valiant century from Tazmin Brits.
Mashimbyi charges fell just short of the 277-run target, which would have been a record run-chase in 50-over internationals for the Proteas, with opener Tazmin Brits scoring 109.
The Proteas collapsed from 240-4 to eventually be bowled out for 261 in the final over and Mashimbyi rued his team's missed opportunity to start the series with a victory.
The head coach said: "I'm really proud of the girls. There are a lot of positives we can take out of this game. I think they showed a good fight throughout.
"Obviously it didn't go our way, which was quite unfortunate. But I think for me, as I summarised the whole game, it was a game of missed opportunities.
"For the majority of the match, we actually had control of the game, and we let it go away from us and that's when they capitalised with both bat and ball."
The tri-series in Sri Lanka is Mashimbyi's first full series in charge of the national side and he has identified areas which the team must improve before taking on the hosts on Friday.
He added: "There are so many things that we can take out. In the field, we were a bit sloppy, so that’s something we can work on.
"The nice thing about this game for me is to identify the areas that we can really improve and grow in. That's why we're never here to lose, but we're here to learn and grow."
The Proteas Women fell to a 15-run defeat in their ODI tri-series opener against India in Colombo despite a valiant century from Tazmin Brits.
The Proteas Women start their ODI tri-series against India in Colombo on Tuesday and captain Laura Wolvaardt is confident her team can start the tournament on a winning note.
Proteas Women's head coach Mandla Mashimbyi has given high praise 'stalwart' seamer bowler Ayabonga Khaka ahead of the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka.
Captain Laura Wolvaardt says the youngsters in the Proteas Women's squad are 'eager to learn' ahead of the upcoming ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka that will also feature India.