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South Africa’s Anrich Nortje took a remarkable four wickets for just seven runs as the Proteas dismissed Sri Lanka for a record low 77 on their way to a six-wicket win in the teams’ T20 World Cup opener in New York on Monday. Sri Lanka’s total was their lowest in all T20 cricket, with fast bowler Nortje’s figures the best by a South African at a T20 World Cup, surpassing his own 4-10 against Bangladesh in Sydney two years ago. “It’s been a while since I’ve had those figures,” said Nortje, the player of the match, at the presentation ceremony.

“Just happy to have pulled it off for the team. “We didn’t know what to expect from the pitch, we’d heard one or two rumours about being up and down,” the 30-year-old added. Kagiso Rabada (2-21) and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who took two wickets in two balls on his way to 2-22, also damaged the cause of 2014 champions Sri Lanka.



Opener Kusal Mendis (19) and veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews (16) were the only Sri Lanka batsmen to pass 15 after their captain, Wanindu Hasaranga, seemingly misread conditions by opting to bat first upon winning the toss. South Africa, however, also lost early wickets as their top order also struggled to time the ball on a drop-in pitch that is the cornerstone of a Long Island ground built specially for the tournament. The production of the drop-in pitch was overseen by Adelaide Oval curator Damian Hough, but it attracted plenty of criticism for its inability to offer much fo.

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