South Africa vs Sri Lanka, 25th Match, Group 1, Sharjah, Oct 30 2021
Match Result: South Africa won by 4 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)
Player of the Match: Tabraiz Shamsi
Match Report: South Africa’s chase almost crashed – particularly when Wanindu Hasaranga claimed a T20I hat-trick to go with the ODI one he took on debut. But, in the end, taking the game deep, trusting their finisher, and hoping Sri Lanka’s inexperience would help them, ended up working.
With 14 required off the last five balls, Lahiru Kumara missed his length twice, put two balls in David Miller’s arc, and the batter smoked it away in the stands, almost beyond them. He got a single off the next ball, meaning South Africa were tied, with two balls remaining. Kagiso Rabada, who had fielded brilliantly, then edged the next ball for four, and South Africa were home with a ball to spare.
The victory means South Africa stay in the hunt for a semi-final spot, while Sri Lanka find themselves needing several other results to go their way if they are to be in contention.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had stumbled through the middle overs – not for the first time – against spin. Tabraiz Shamsi took 3 for 17, as Sri Lanka slumped from 61 for 1 to 110 for 6, the run rate slowing as those wickets fell. They ended with a total of 142, the last wicket falling off the last delivery. It never really seemed enough, even if their bowlers did well to make it seem a good total.
Tabraiz Shamsi | Player of the Match – “My first Man of the Match trophy in the World Cup, so it’s a special moment, but not to take anything away from Nortje, Markram, Miller and Rabada, they played their parts really well.
I haven’t had a great number of chances previously, but I kept working hard, was looking to do something special, try and win games for the country. The number one rank doesn’t really matter for me, I’m just glad that I am bowling well, we have one of the finest bowling attacks in the world and I’m just happy to be part of it.”
Dasun Shanaka | SL captain: “It was enough to defend for Kumara. He was nailing his yorkers, so I thought he was dependable. Credit to how the South African batsmen played under pressure.
We had Wanindu for the death too, but we used him up before. Nissanka was fantastic and we know that he’s a bright prospect for Sri Lankan cricket. It’s difficult for us after this, but we have to keep fighting.”
Temba Bavuma | South Africa captain: “It’s hard to keep everything at the back of my mind, and we had a job to do. We took it deep and it was a good thing that we managed to get over the line. David hasn’t done that for us in a while, and it’s great that he came good at the right time.
Shamsi is a good player for us, he’s been effective all over the world in this format and he’s been doing this for quite a while now. I took on the responsibility to soak the pressure. The shot was on, but I am a bit annoyed that I couldn’t execute it well enough.”
15 Runs needed in last over to win : Done : Full Video of SA vs SL@t20worldcup https://t.co/4UNSOwUU1z
— avishkar govardhane (@avishkargovardh) October 30, 2021
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