South Africa are on track to win their inaugural match of this tournament, thanks to Ottneil Baartman who became the first South African bowler ever to take a wicket with their opening ball at any World Cup tournament.
Pathirana, widely dubbed ‘Baby Malinga’, tests Klaasen with an inswinger but the skipper does not seek review. In this article, we will discuss the main details of South Africa National Cricket Team Vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Match Scorecard.
Scorecard of South Africa National Cricket Team Vs Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Match Scorecard
ICC T20 World Cup 2019 has kicked off in style, featuring thrilling matches between Sri Lanka and South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town that featured nail-biters and high-scoring thrillers. One such match between South Africa and Sri Lanka, held at Newlands in Cape Town was no different; both teams put in fantastic efforts but it was the South African bowlers that ultimately emerged victorious, restricting Sri Lanka to just 77 runs off 19.1 overs courtesy of Anrich Nortje’s four wickets with three others contributing two wickets each!
Even with their slower outfield, the Proteas were in total control during their innings. Quinton de Kock led from the front with an outstanding 58-ball century while all batsmen provided good support. Their excellent fielding also contributed significantly to their success.
Sri Lanka experienced an initially poor start and eventually lost momentum, falling further behind the run rate. Their batsmen struggled with the challenging surface; only one partnership – between Dasun Shanaka and Angelo Mathews – reached double figures.
At 78-4 in the 19th over, South Africa still felt confident of winning. Unfortunately, their batting collapsed and they faced an uphill task of scoring 26 runs in three overs to achieve success.
Wanindu Hasaranga bowled a short and wide delivery, which Klaasen punched straight down for a single. On his next ball he hit it for six, sealing victory for Proteas with 22 balls remaining.
Aiden Markram applauds his team on their victory and says it was an impressive display from both sides. He notes the challenging conditions on the track were tough for batters to cope with and that learnings will be taken from this match. Furthermore, Aiden goes on to say they still have two more games at this same location in which to adapt. Finally, Aiden concludes by noting how energized everyone was before taking on Bangladesh in their next contest; another exciting contest that will keep fans guessing!
Sri Lanka 77 for 1 in 19.1 overs
Sri Lanka chased an easy target of just 77 on a two-paced pitch that made scoring challenging. Their batsmen struggled to make any noticeable dent into South African total, due to an inability to build partnerships or tackle South African bowlers effectively. Their defeat will leave them wondering how they can improve for future competitions.
Ottneil Baartman made an impressive Protea debut, taking Pathum Nissanka wicket for just three runs after offering width from his crease and offering width from his delivery route; Nissanka missed his attempted drive, leading him to edge back out to Heinrich Klaasen at third slip, giving the Proteas an ideal start in their innings. The Proteas can take great pleasure from this fast start.
South Africa have tweaked their batting order for the final four overs, with Aiden Markram moving into number three alongside Heinrich Klaasen at the top. South Africa will hope that by keeping momentum alive they can secure an easy victory and open their tournament campaign with a win.
WICKET: OUT! Sri Lanka 77-2 in 18.1 Overs
Kagiso Rabada’s superb bowling spell has reduced Sri Lanka to 77-2 after 18.1 Overs. A fuller ball in the slot tested Klaasen’s footwork before being played towards long on for a single and taking his team past 50 runs in the process.
Rabada then dismisses Kamindu Mendis with Keshav Maharaj’s second ball to dismiss her for an impressive second ball duck – further underscoring Rabada’s impressive form as an opponent to their visitors.
South Africa opener Quinton de Kock scored the winning boundary from the very first ball of the final over. David Miller punished a short and wide offering with a straight six down the ground to seal their victory in style. Looking ahead, South African will look to build on this result and advance through Pool A towards reaching Super 8s; captain Aiden Markram leads an experienced side featuring Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Khaya Zondo and Maheesh Theekshana amongst others.
South Africa 102 for 1 in 10.5 overs
As South Africa and Sri Lanka take their places for their matchup, both nations’ National Anthems can be heard playing in the background. South Africa are led out by Ottneil Baartman as bowler while Kagiso Rabada takes over at one end for Marco Jansen who had to bow out due to injury.
SL have struggled from the off in this T20 World Cup Powerplay and scored just 24 runs; their lowest total since 2014. Since their victory at this level in 2014, they have not reached the semi-finals of any major limited-overs tournament.
Dasun Shanaka and Angelo Mathews will play an instrumental role in helping them return to prominence.
Sri Lanka will require some luck from their bowlers if they want to avoid an innings defeat; only one managed a wicket in their opening innings.
Hendricks begins the match with a dot ball before reaching for his first run of the match through mid wicket and running hard through mid wicket to complete it. Hasaranga then sends out another delivery which Hendricks clips neatly for another four.
Hasaranga believes he has trapped Klaasen LBW, but the umpire does not concur and his review attempt fails. After this setback, Hasaranga attempts an inswinging yorker but misses his footing and fails.
SL have an opportunity to keep their hopes alive but require more from their lower order batsmen if they’re to make any headway in this game. A combination of poor application and shot selection has left SL batsmen vulnerable on both the ball and bat.
Sri Lanka will soon be in trouble as just a few wickets fall. Hendricks looks poised to score his maiden run as he pushes forward at short mid wicket and sends the ball over long on. Unfortunately he was caught at the fence as he appeared poised to clear it easily. Miller dances down the wicket and depositing past long on for six as the over ends with South Africa leading by 37 runs.
Final Score
Hardik Pandya bowled the first ball of the last over – a full length delivery on middle that David Miller hit to deep backward square leg, where Suryakumar Yadav took an amazing catch – an extraordinary piece of cricketing skill at an opportune moment that will go down as one of T20 history’s finest moments.
Miller goes back to bowling a slower delivery that’s short length on middle, and again can only jam it out, though this time he hits it straight and four runs are scored off this over. South Africa have so far given away 9 runs while they need 16 to win.
Kagiso Rabada has made an impactful comeback to limited-overs cricket after recovering from a soft tissue injury that prevented him from featuring against Sri Lanka ODI series and is poised to lead South Africa’s attack alongside Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee in this game.
Keshav Maharaj returns after recovering from an ankle injury to be the main bowling force, having made an impressionful debut against Sri Lanka last time out in this format. He will look to continue that success here.
Wanindu Hasaranga has been an outstanding captain during this tournament and his all-round skills will add tremendous value to the team. His batting skills have improved substantially while his bowling can only make things stronger for their squad.
Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis and Dasun Shanaka are experienced Sri Lankan players that will look to contribute in this game. With the potential of scoring on this surface and hoping to ward off South Africa’s threat.
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