Tearaway pacer Anrich Nortje picked career-best figures of 4-7 to lead a dominant and disciplined bowling performance from South Africa and set up their six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their Group D match of 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Monday. The teams were greeted by a two-paced pitch having variable bounce and some swing on offer, leading to a challenge for batters in bringing out their strokeplay on a bowler-friendly surface. In such conditions, Nortje made merry with his impeccable accuracy in varying pace, line, and length to be the pick of bowlers for South Africa as they bowled out a listless Sri Lanka for just 77 in 19.
1 overs. ADVERTISEMENT Ottneil Baartman, Keshav Maharaj, and Kagiso Rabada were amongst the wickets through their impressive spells to bowl out Sri Lanka for their lowest-ever total in men’s T20Is. In reply, South Africa managed to complete the chase with 22 balls to spare and kick off their campaign in emphatic fashion.
Barring winning the toss, nothing went right for Sri Lanka as they were pushed on the backfoot from the get-go. The 2014 champions were never allowed to get going from the start, being caught in two minds when faced with probing questions posed by South Africa’s bowlers and suffered from poor shot selection as none of the batters touched even 20, with just three players getting into double figures. Electing to bowl first, South Africa’s bowlers found swing both ways and extra .
