SL vs SA | Anrich Nortje's blistering four-fer and Rabada-Maharaj's finesse crush Sri Lanka in New York

Sri Lanka clashed with South Africa in their opening game of Group D at Nassau County Stadium in New York. Lankan skipper Wanindu Hasaranga won the toss and decided to bowl first on a pace-friendly pitch, a decision that quickly backfired as the Sri Lankan openers struggled to a slow start, managing just 13 runs in the first three overs. The trouble began when Pathum Nissanka departed in the fourth over, bringing Kamindu Mendis to the crease. By the end of the powerplay, Sri Lanka's scorecard read 24/1. The pace and bounce of the pitch continued to trouble the Lankan batters, with Kamindu Mendis falling to Anrich Nortje in the eighth over. Keshav Maharaj then delivered a critical blow in the ninth over, dismissing both Wanindu Hasaranga and Sadeera Samarawickrama in quick succession with Kusal Mendis departing in the following over, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 40/5 after 10 overs.The situation worsened when Charith Asalanka was sent back to the pavilion in the 12th over by Nortje. Although Angelo Mathews provided a brief glimmer of hope by hitting two sixes in the 14th and 15th overs, the wickets kept tumbling. Dasun Shanaka was dismissed in the 15th over, and Mathews himself fell in the 16th, leaving the score at 70/8. With a batting collapse, Sri Lanka succumbed to 77 runs in 19.1 overs, marking their lowest score in T20I history.

In response, South Africa stumbled early as Reeza Hendricks departed in the second over. Aiden Markam also fell quickly, leaving Tristan Stubbs and Quinton de Kock to steady the ship, ending the powerplay at 27/2. Their partnership of 24 runs took the score to 47/2 after 10 overs. With just 31 runs needed, victory seemed imminent for the Proteas. However, Sri Lanka briefly gained momentum by dismissing Stubbs and de Kock in the 11th and 13th overs respectively, courtesy of Wanindu Hasaranga. With 20 runs required from seven overs, all attention turned to David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen to see the job through. Klaasen's boundary and six in the 14th over nearly sealed the deal, leaving just six runs needed off the last five overs. In the end, South Africa clinched the match by six wickets, kicking off their World Cup campaign with an emphatic victory.

Klaasen hit six and four



SA need 6 runs to win #T20WorldCup #T20WC2024 Amir #SAvsSL #SLvsSA

— Ahmed56🇵🇰💜 (@AhmedHa5607485) June 3, 2024

Hahaha!

Test match is going on between #SouthAfrica and #srilanka..#pitch#SAvsSL#T20WORLDCUP

#

— Panks (@pankajbiswas6) June 3, 2024

Naah it is done!

Cricket will die even before it will be introduced in #USA if @ICC creates this sort of shit pitches for a T20 match that too for a WC ... #RSAvSL #SAvsSL #T20WC

— Shahrukh Ahmed (@isrkahmed) June 3, 2024

Boring!

Just tuned. #SAvsSL pic.twitter.com/cNAAYRk867

— Shherlocckz (@engineeroast) June 3, 2024