(AP Photo)
Ruthless with the ball and resilient with the bat, South Africa delivered a commanding performance, leaving Sri Lanka humbled in a resounding six-wicket victory in New York on Monday.
A sluggish start spiraled into a nightmare for Sri Lanka in the first innings, as their batters struggled to find their footing and establish momentum.
Despite the change in leadership, Sri Lanka failed to find their stride, recording a meager total of just 77 runs, marking their lowest-ever score in both T20 World Cup history and T20Is overall.
However, South Africa faced their own challenges with the bat, contending with the Sri Lankan bowling attack and a tricky pitch. Yet, they methodically navigated through, ultimately securing the win in the 17th over, propelled by Heinrich Klaasen’s contributions.
“Happy with the win. The batting was a little up and down, probably speaks to quite a tough wicket and luckily we found ways to score on this. It was a tough one from a batting point of view, we try as much as we can to take the pitch out of it, we can take some learnings from it and we are experienced,” stated SA skipper Aiden Markram in a post-match interview.
“Lots of different conditions as we move around, fortunately we have our next two here so we know what’s coming but it’s important to adapt as we go ahead.”
“I was not worried about him but a fantastic day for him, from a mental confidence point of view. He is massively loved in the changeroom, boys are incredibly happy and proud of him, hopefully this kicks off a great World Cup for him,” exclaimed Markram.
