Image Credit- Getty
In a commanding manner, South Africa claimed their first two points in the T20 World Cup after bowling Sri Lanka out for the lowest total ever in the format and needing to chase 78 runs in 17 overs. We learned more about the conditions at the inaugural official Twenty20 International match played at Eisenhower Park’s freshly constructed stadium than any of the two teams. It’s challenging to bat on this surface because of its uneven bounce, lack of turn, and large, difficult-to-cross square boundaries.
After opting to bat first, Sri Lanka found themselves quickly behind. They scored 40 for 5, their lowest ten-over total, while their powerplay produced just 24 runs. The four-seam approach of South Africa was disciplined, went fuller upfront, altered pace efficiently, and rapidly adjusted to the changing conditions. Anrich Nortje was their star player, putting on his greatest show since coming back from a stress fracture that kept him out of the international game for nearly nine months. With a career-best 4 for 7, Nortje demonstrated exceptional velocity, reaching speeds of up to 150 kph, and skillfully utilised the slower ball. Ottneil Baartman, a World Cup rookie, who bowled a total of 20 dot balls, was a good compliment to him.
Only three Sri Lankan batsmen reached double digits as a result of the combined efforts of the South Africans, and just one partnership, Dasun Shanaka and Angelo Mathews’ seventh-wicket stand, was worth more than 20. The batters faced 214 balls in this game, and 127 of them were dots—the most number of dots in a Men’s T20 World Cup match.
In 2014, Aiden Markram led South Africa to victory in the Under-19 World Cup. Mathews participated in the 2014 T20 World Cup winning Sri Lankan team. And there was something unique about them playing each other in the third over of South Africa’s innings because neither of them, nor their nations, have experienced international success since. Mathews commanded the conversation, with length balls on off stump, and then issued a warning.
Dasun Shanaka came in to replace Mathews after he took a single off the final delivery, ruining what would have been a perfect over. When Shanaka squared Markram up with a delivery that sailed away, took the outside edge, and was superbly taken low down by Kusal Mendis at wide first slip, that delivered Sri Lanka the prize they had been waiting for.
With just three fours and three sixes in Sri Lanka’s innings and the same amount from South Africa, there weren’t many to pick from, making the match a) an antidote to the IPL and b) a game of tension-filled old-fashioned grind. When Heinrich Klaasen, possibly the best boundary hitter of the competition, struck Wanindu Hasaranga over long-on and then straight down the ground for six and then four to all but end the match.