Proteas had 'a point to prove' to take Irish T20s to decider, says Goodall

Proteas opener Lara Goodall says they wanted to prove a point as they cruised to victory in the second T20 against Ireland in Dublin on Monday.

Last week, the Proteas women fell short by 10 runs in the opening T20 to hand Ireland only their second T20 victory over SA in 11 matches.

The Proteas needed a win to avoid any blushes and executed a stellar all-rounder performance to sealed an eight-wicket win, levelling the three-match T20 series 1-1.

After they were asked to field first, the Proteas bowling attack restricted Ireland to 106/7 at the Pembroke Cricket Club.

Goodall came with intention and smashed seven fours and a six to bring up her maiden T20 half-century in her 15th T20 game.

The Proteas opener shared a 72-run stand with Anneke Bosch (32) before Goodall was bowled by Jane Maguire for a well-played 52 off 40 balls.

"(Having) that intent to score in the powerplay and not being scared to go over the top, it was just about trusting my shots and my strength," Goodall told reporters on Monday following the game.

"It came off today. I came in with a game plan after the first T20 didn't go well with the team for the entire team. And as an opener in the T20s, you set up the innings for the team, the middle-order can take it away. Luckily, we didn't need them today."

The Proteas turned things around on Monday and demonstrated a clinical performance with both bat and ball after stern chats from captain Sune Luus last week.

Goodall added that South Africa came out with a "point to prove" in the second T20 as they look to build the momentum ahead of Wednesday's decider.

"It wasn't our best performance in the first T20. Sune sat us down nicely as a side and had a stern chat with us. I think everyone couldn't disagree at all, so we