Laura Wolvaardt's unbeaten 126 draws her level with Smriti Mandhana on 18 international hundreds

South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt's unbeaten 126 in Bulawayo carried her to 18 international hundreds, level with India's Smriti Mandhana at the top of the women's game

Laura Wolvaardt made 126 not out from 62 balls in the third T20I against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club on Tuesday, an innings that carried South Africa to 200 for 1 and set up an 80-run win.

The result gave the Proteas an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series with two games still to play, on their first tour of Zimbabwe.

It was the 18th century of Wolvaardt's international career across the three formats, drawing her level with Smriti Mandhana for the most hundreds by any woman in the history of the game.

Sixty-two balls at Queens Sports Club

Wolvaardt struck 16 fours and four sixes and finished at a strike rate of 203.22, a tempo she has seldom sustained across a full innings in the format.

The score is the highest by a South Africa woman in a T20 International. It passes Shandre Fritz's 116 not out, made in 2010, a mark that had stood for sixteen years.

She also became the first South Africa woman to pass 3,000 runs in T20 Internationals, reaching 3,040 in her 101st innings in the format.

It was her fourth hundred in T20 Internationals, and her first of this series after two quieter outings in the opening two matches in Bulawayo.

Level with Mandhana

Wolvaardt's 18 international hundreds are spread across Tests, one-day cricket and T20 Internationals. Mandhana is the only other woman to have reached the figure.

Both are top-order batters who have carried the run-scoring for sides ranked among the strongest in the women's game, and both have done so across all three international formats.

The record is now shared rather than held, and either batter can take it outright the next time she reaches three figures.

Meso's maiden fifty and a 173-run stand

Wolvaardt was accompanied for most of the innings by 18-year-old wicketkeeper Karabo Meso, who made 50 not out from 51 balls for her first half-century in T20 Internationals.

Their unbroken second-wicket partnership was worth 173, the third-highest stand for any South Africa women's wicket in the format.

"It was just clear minds, not getting ahead of ourselves. She made me feel good about myself, I made her feel good about herself," Meso said of the stand.

Zimbabwe did not take a wicket after the pair came together, and South Africa lost none in adding their last 173 runs.

Dercksen's five-for ends the chase

Zimbabwe were bowled out for 120 in 19.3 overs, with Annerie Dercksen returning 5-15 from her four overs for a maiden five-wicket haul in T20 Internationals.

Dercksen is only the third South Africa woman to take five wickets in a T20 International, after Sune Luus and Shabnim Ismail.

Michelle Mavunga top-scored for the hosts with 41 from 23 balls, including eight fours, but the innings fell away around her and the target was never in range.

Two matches left in Bulawayo

Wolvaardt was named player of the match. The fourth T20I is at Queens Sports Club on Thursday and the fifth on Saturday, both of them now dead rubbers.

Zimbabwe, hosting South Africa for the first time, have not reached 130 in any of their three innings in the series, having been held to 116 and 129 for 7 in the first two matches.

Scorecard: South Africa Women 200 for 1 (Wolvaardt 126*, Meso 50*) beat Zimbabwe Women 120 (Mavunga 41, Dercksen 5-15) by 80 runs

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