Key events
That’s all for today. Andy Bull’s report should be on the site shortly, and we’ll be back tomorrow for England v Scotland. Goodnight!
South Africa captain Aiden Markram speaks
Yeah we’re happy with the win. Incredible performance in the field, but the batting was a little bit up and down. It was quite a tough wicket. Hopefully we can take a bit of learning from spending some time out there.
There will be lots of different conditions as you move around the tournament. We’re fortunate that we have our next two games here and have a decent idea of how it will play.
I wasn’t worried about [Anrich Nortje] but it was a fantastic day for his confidence. He’s massively loved in the changing-room and we’re all really proud of him. Hopefully it’s the start of a massive World Cup for him.
Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasraranga’s verdict
We were looking for 160-170 but we now realise it’s a 120-130 wicket, especially with our bowlers. As a team we wanted to do much better, especially as a batting unit, but we still have three games to go.
The player of the match is Anrich Nortje
It’s good to get the result and get some momentum going. [On his performance] I’m very happy. I’ve been feeling good and, though it hasn’t paid off in the last few games, it was great to get some rewards today. Everyone bowled really well and it was a great effort to restrict them to 77, even if it was a tricky pitch. I’m not sure whether all the games will be like that or whether there might be any changes.
Sri Lanka salvaged some dignity from the jaws of defeat after being bowled out for their lowest T20 total. South Africa’s star performers were Ottneil Baartman, who took a wicket with his first ball at a World Cup and picked up 1 for 9 from four overs, and especially Anrich Nortje, who trampled all over Sri Lanka’s top seven to finish with remarkable figures of 4-0-7-4.
South Africa looked good today. Their batting depth will be a worry going forward. Sri Lanka should get Madhushanka in the playing 11.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 3, 2024
South Africa win by six wickets!
16.2 overs: South Africa 80-4 (Klaasen 19, Miller 6) Miller belts Hasraranga for four to complete an ultimately comfortable victory for South Africa with 22 balls to spare. It was a strange game on an unscrupulous pitch, and South Africa’s hitters played within themselves even when they were chasing just 78.
16th over: South Africa 75-4 (Klaasen 18, Miller 2) Maheesh Theekshana gets a belated bowl and is milked for three runs.
Miller survives an LBW appeal after being hit on the pad by an unplayable grubber. Sri Lanka review on the might-as-well principle but I suspect they know it pitched well outside leg. If they didn’t, they do know.
Three to win.
15th over: South Africa 72-4 (Klaasen 16, Miller 1) After playing watchfully for the first 14 balls, Klaasen finally opens his shoulders. He savages consecutive deliveries from Hasaranga down the ground for six and four, and suddenly South Africa are one hit away from victory.
14th over: South Africa 61-4 (Klaasen 4, Miller 1) A 94mph attempted yorker from Pathirana is inside-edged for a single by Klaasen. This is fascinating, almost a Test match in coloured clothing.
There has been only one boundary since the fourth over, and no fours since the first over. That can’t be a good thing, yet if Sri Lanka had posted 100, never mind 120, we’d be watching an unusual cracker.
13th over: South Africa 58-4 (Klaasen 3, Miller 0) Hasaranga is trying to create a bit of theatre, putting his hands to his head even when Miller defends his first ball fairly comfortably. Quite right too.
Not sure this is the best introduction to cricket in a new land……
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 3, 2024
WICKET! South Africa 58-4 (Stubbs c Asalanka b Hasaranga 13)
Sheesh, what a strange game this is. Stubbs slaps Hasaranga straight to short cover, where Asalanka takes a quite superb low catch. He goes for 13 from 28 balls; South Africa still need 20.
12th over: South Africa 57-3 (Stubbs 13, Klaasen 2) A beautiful roundarm yorker from Pathirana knocks Klaasen off his feet. More importantly for South Africa, Klaasen just manages to get some bat on the ball, without which he’d have been plumb LBW.
Stubbs, who looks more comfortable, works a couple into the leg side. This brutal South African middle order have so far dealt exclusively in ones and twos. That’s a compliment – it would have been easy to let the ego take over, especially after their form in the IPL, but this pitch requires a different approach.
11th over: South Africa 51-3 (Stubbs 10, Klaasen 0) ICYMI, here’s Simon Burnton on the story behind this challenging pitch.
WICKET! South Africa 51-3 (de Kock ct and b Hasaranga 20)
Is something brilliant happening? Probably not but Quinton de Kock has gone, chipping a simple return catch to the the legspinner 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’s a very promising bowler, still only 21, and he beats de Kock with consecutive zingers outside off stump. The second of those was timed at 93mph, which hints at how awkward he must be to face.
Despite those near misses, there are four singles and a wide from the over. That’s more than enough for South Africa in this peculiar run-chase.
9th over: South Africa 42-2 (de Kock 15, Stubbs 7) Another tight over from Shanaka, who has conceded six from three. Wickets are Sri Lanka’s only hope, though, and South Africa know that: with one or two exceptions they are dealing in low-risk singles.
8th over: South Africa 39-2 (de Kock 8, Stubbs 5) Stubbs inside-edges Mathews this far short of the keeper Kusal, who did well to change direction and plunge to his left. I don’t think it was a chance.
I was just starting to wonder whether Sri Lanka had a chance of an astonishing victory when de Kock pulled Mathews vigorously over square leg for an 85-metre six. South Africa needed that.
7th over: South Africa 30-2 (de Kock 7, Stubbs 3) Stubbs has spent the last two months walloping sixes in the IPL. This is a completely different challenge, almost a different form of the game. He’s beaten by a superb off-cutter form Shanaka that just bounces over middle stump, and South Africa continue to inch towards their peculiarly awkward target of 78.
6th over: South Africa 27-2 (de Kock 6, Stubbs 1) de Kock is beaten again on the inside by Thushara, whose Malinga-like action makes him even more awkward to face when the bounce is inconsistent. Stubbs is also beaten and then gets off the mark from his seventh delivery.
South Africa are okay for now, but two quick wickets would give them all kinds of fear.
5th over: South Africa 23-2 (de Kock 5, Stubbs 0) He’s dropped him! Stubbs forces outside off stump at Shanaka and edges to Mendis, who puts down a pretty straightforward chance to his right.
That would have made things pretty interesting, to say the least. What hell kinda crazy T20 games are we watching here?
Stubbs is not out It did flick the pad, which is why the keeper Kusal Mendis was so excited.
Sri Lanka review for caught behind against Stubbs!
It was given as a wide down the leg side, and my hunch is that it’s not out.
WICKET! South Africa 23-2 (Markram c Kamindu b Shanaka 12)
If only Sri Lanka had made 120. They’ve picked up another wicket, with Markram caught at slip off the new bowler Dasun Shanaka. He tried to turn Shanaka to leg and got a thick leading edge to slip, where Kamindu Mendis took a fine low catch.
4th over: South Africa 23-1 (de Kock 5, Markram 12) A wide outswinger from Thushara is driven majestically over extra cover for six by Markram. He looks more fluent than de Kock, who is beaten by a full inswinger. De Kock has 5 from 11 balls, Markram 12 from 12.
3rd over: South Africa 14-1 (de Kock 5, Markram 3) Markram is beaten by a jaffa from Mathews that kicks from a good length. Talking of leng The next ball cuts back to hit him amidships, so there’s a break in play while he receives whatever treatment you can give somebody in that situation.
This New York pitch is doing a lot more than a typical T20 surface. That won’t be to all tastes, but it should make for some intriguing cricket during the World Cup.
2nd over: South Africa 13-1 (de Kock 5, Markram 2)
WICKET! South Africa 10-1 (Hendricks c Shanaka b Thushara 4)
Nuwan Thushara, a roundarm swing bowler, starts with a no-ball, which means a free hit. De Kock drags that for two before inside-edging an inswinger past leg stump.
Reeza Hendricks falls next ball, edging a routine catch to first slip after pushing at a very wide outswinger. Sri Lanka must be really frustrated that they couldn’t post even 120 here; had they done so we might have a game on.
1st over: South Africa 6-0 (de Kock 1, Hendricks 4) Big Ange opens the bowling with his sly cutters. Apart from one wided it’s a decent start, with a tight line and enough nibble to make de Kock wary. Hendricks takes Mathews on, though, carving his first delivery to third man for four.
The players are back on the field. Let’s play darts.
Mid-innings reading
It’ll be interesting to see how South Africa go about their runchase. Ordinarily you’d want to get it done inside 10 overs for net run-rate purposes but there’s an argument for playing more cautiously, especially as they will be batting on this pitch in future games.
Hard to know what to make of that. South Africa bowled with laser focus, helped by a relatively capricious pitch, and Sri Lanka struggled from the first ball. They hit only three fours and three sixes in the whole innings. None of them came off Anrich Nortje, who left a miserable IPL behind with a ferocious spell of 4 for 7.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 77 all out (Thushara run out 0)
Theekshana tries to keep the strike by turning for a very tight second, and the non-striker Thushara is well short when Nortje’s throw is collected by the bowler Jansen.
Brilliant stuff from South Africa, who have skittled Sri Lanka for their lowest T20 score.
19th over: Sri Lanka 76-9 (Theekshana 6, Thushara 0) Theekshana turns down a single off Baartman, a surprising decision that is justified when he slugs Baartman wide of mid-on for four. He takes a single off the last ball to keep the strike.
Baartman ends a fine World Cup with figures of 4-1-9-1. Before today, only three South Africa men had bowled their four overs for less than 10 runs in a T20 international, the last in 2013. Nortje and Baartman have joined the list.
18th over: Sri Lanka 71-9 (Theekshana 1, Thushara 0) I’d have to double check but I think Sri Lanka’s lowest T20 score is 82 against India at Vishakapatnam on 14 February 2016.
Rabada can’t take the last wicket but he does end with a wicket maiden and figures of 4-1-21-2.
WICKET! 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 ever T20 total.
17th over: Sri Lanka 71-8 (Theekshana 1, Pathirana 0) Baartman is far too good for the No9 Theekshana, bowling a Test-match length and beating the edge two or three times. There’s only one loose ball, a leg-side wide.
“Am I the only person,” begins Richard McKeary, “with a certain early 1990s Simpsons-based earworm from following the OBO today?”
You’re not. In fact I was just marvelling at how good the top 10 was when that particular song was top of the hit parade. Look at it!
16th over: Sri Lanka 70-8 (Theekshana 1, Pathirana 0) The IPL 2024 is a thing of the past: Anrich Nortje has taken career-best figures of 4-0-7-4. Welcome back.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
