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Key events
14th over: South Africa 61-4 (Klaasen 4, Miller 1) A 94mph york attempt by Pathirana is inside off for a single by Klaasen. It’s a charming, almost quizzical match in colorful clothes.
There was only one boundary from the fourth over and no four from the first over. That can’t be a good thing, but if Sri Lanka had posted 100, never mind 120, we would have been looking at an unusual cracker.
13th over: South Africa 58-4 (Klaasen 3, Miller 0) Hasaranga tries to create some theater by putting his hands on his head even as Miller defends his first ball quite comfortably. Quite right too.
Not sure it’s the best introduction to cricket in a new land……
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 3, 2024
VARITKA! South Africa 58-4 (Stubbs c Asalanka b Hasaranga 13)
Sheesh, what a weird game this is. Stubbs hits Hasaranga straight to short cover where Asalanka takes a rather superb low catch. He scores 13 off 28 balls; South Africa still need 20.
12th over: South Africa 57-3 (Stubbs 13, Klaassen 2) A beautiful round-arm yorker from Patirana knocks Klaassen off his feet. More importantly for South Africa, Klaassen just manages to catch the ball with the bat, without which he would have been dropped LBW.
Stubbs, looking more comfortable, works a couple down the leg side. This brutal South African middle order has so far dealt exclusively with ones and twos. That’s a compliment – it would have been easy to let ego get the better of them, especially after their form in the IPL, but this performance calls for a different approach.
11th over: South Africa 51-3 (Stubbs 10, Klaassen 0) ICYMI, here’s Simon Burnton for the story behind this challenging performance.
VARITKA! South Africa 51-3 (de Kock ct and b Hasaranga 20)
Is something genius happening? Probably not, but Quinton de Kock is gone, cutting a simple reverse catch off leg-spinner Hasaranga. South Africa need 27 from 55 balls. Sri Lanka need to go back in time and post 120.
10th over: South Africa 47-2 (de Kock 17, Stubbs 9) Matheesha Pathirana, an even more extreme Malinga tribute act, comes into the attack. He is a very promising bowler, still only 21, and he is beating de Kock with back-to-back zingers outside off. The second of those was clocked at 93 mph, which suggests how awkward he must be to face.
Despite those near misses, there are four singles and a wide from the over. That is more than enough for South Africa in this strange pursuit.
9th over: South Africa 42-2 (de Kock 15, Stubbs 7) Another solid over from Shanaka who conceded six off three. Wickets are Sri Lanka’s only hope, though, and South Africa know it: with one or two exceptions, they are dealing with low-risk singles.
8th over: South Africa 39-2 (de Kock 8, Stubbs 5) Stubbs inside edge to Mathews this away from keeper Kusal who did well to change direction and get down the left. I don’t think it was a chance.
I was just beginning to wonder if Sri Lanka had a chance of a stunning victory when de Kock pulled Matthews vigorously over square leg for 85-meter six. South Africa needed it.
7th over: South Africa 30-2 (de Kock 7, Stubbs 3) Stubbs has spent the last two months hitting sixes in the IPL. It’s a completely different challenge, almost a different form of play. He is beaten by some superb awkward form from Shanaka, who just bounces over mid-stump, and South Africa continue to close in on their particularly awkward target of 78.
6th over: South Africa 27-2 (de Kock 6, Stubbs 1) de Kock is again beaten on the inside by Suchhara, whose Malinga-like action makes him even more uncomfortable when the bounce is inconsistent. Stubbs is also beaten and then gets out of the mark after his seventh delivery.
South Africa are good so far but two quick wickets will give them any fear.
5th over: South Africa 23-2 (de Kock 5, Stubbs 0) He is dropped out him! Stubbs forces an outside off stump to Shanaka and it goes to Mendis who gives a fairly easy chance down the right.
That would make things pretty interesting, to say the least. What crazy T20 games are we watching here?
Stubbs is not out Really hit the pad which is why wicket keeper Kusal Mendis was so excited.
Sri Lanka review to fall behind against Stubbs!
It was given as a wide leg side and my guess is that it is not out.
VARITKA! South Africa 23-2 (Markram c Kamindu b Shanaka 12)
If only Sri Lanka had made 120. They claimed another wicket as Markram was caught at slip by new bowler Dasun Shanaka. He tried to turn Shanaka to leg and got a thick front edge to slip where Kamindu Mendis took a good low catch.
4th over: South Africa 23-1 (de Kock 5, Markram 12) A wide offswinger from Suchhara is driven majestically over extra cover for six by Markram. He looks freer than de Kock, who is beaten by a full inswinger. De Kock has 5 off 11 balls, Markram 12 off 12.
3rd over: South Africa 14-1 (de Kock 5, Markram 3) Markram is beaten by a jaffa from Matthews who kicks from a good length. Speaking of length The next ball comes down to hit him in the middle, so there’s a pause in the game while he gets whatever treatment you can give someone in that situation.
This New York pitch does a lot more than a typical T20 surface. This won’t appeal to everyone, but it should make for some intriguing cricket during the World Cup.
2nd over: South Africa 13-1 (de Kock 5, Markram 2)
VARITKA! South Africa 10-1 (Hendricks c Shanaka b Tushara 4)
Nuwan Tushara, a round arm bowler starts with a no ball which means a free hit. De Kock drags this for two before flicking an inswinger past leg stump.
Reeza Hendricks falls on the next ball, beating a routine catch to slip at first after pushing a very wide offswinger. Sri Lanka must be really disappointed that they can’t post even 120 here; if they had, we could have started a game.
1st over: South Africa 6-0 (de Kock 1, Hendricks 4) Big Ange opens up the bowling alley with his crafty knives. Apart from one wide, it’s a decent start, with a tight line and enough bite to make de Kock wary. However, Hendricks takes on Mathews, carving his first delivery to third man for four.
The football players are back on the field. Let’s play darts.
Reading in the middle of the inning
It will be interesting to see how South Africa fares in the race. You’d normally want to do it within 10 overs for net-rank purposes, but there’s an argument to play more cautiously, especially as they’ll be batting on this pitch in future games.
It’s hard to know what to do with this. South Africa played with laser focus aided by a relatively capricious pitch and Sri Lanka struggled from the first ball. They hit just three fours and three sixes in the entire innings. Neither came from Anrich Nortje, who left a miserable IPL behind with a ferocious spell of 4 for 7.
VARITKA! Sri Lanka 77 all out (Thushara run out 0)
Tekshana tries to hold on, turning for a very narrow second, and non-striker Tushara is well short when Nortee’s throw is collected by bowler Jansen.
Brilliant stuff from South Africa who beat Sri Lanka for theirs lowest T20 score.
19th over: Sri Lanka 76-9 (Texhana 6, Tushara 0) Theekshana denies a single to Baartman, a surprising decision that is vindicated when he bowls Baartman wide of mid-on for four. He takes a single off the last ball to save the strike.
Baartman finishes a great World Cup with figures of 4-1-9-1. Before today, only three men from South Africa had bowled their four overs for less than 10 runs in a T20 international, the last in 2013. Nortje and Baartman joined the list.
18th over: Sri Lanka 71-9 (Texhana 1, Tushara 0) I’ll have to check again but I think Sri Lanka’s lowest T20 score is 82 against India in Vishakapatnam on 14th February 2016.
Rabada fails to take the last wicket but ends up with a maiden wicket and figures of 4-1-21-2.
VARITKA! Sri Lanka 71-9 (Pathirana c Markram b Rabada 0)
It’s bad, you know. Pathirana chips a slower ball from Rabada straight to mid on to leave Sri Lanka nine down and facing their lowest T20 total.
17th over: Sri Lanka 71-8 (Texhana 1, Pattirana 0) Baartman is too good for the Texana No. 9, playing the length of a Test match and beating the edge two or three times. There is just one loose ball wide of the leg side.
“Am I the only person,” Richard McKeary begins, “with a known earworm from the early 1990s who follows OBO today?”
You’re not. I was actually just wondering how good the top 10 was when that particular song was at the top of the charts. Look at him!
16th over: Sri Lanka 70-8 (Texhana 1, Pattirana 0) IPL 2024 is a thing of the past: Anrich Nortje took career bests of 4-0-7-4. Welcome back.
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