South Africa blazed through Sri Lanka’s batting order in the first innings, ensuring an opening day ICC T20 Cricket World Cup win on a tricky New York surface.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to put runs on the board — but Ainrich Nortje had other plans in the Big Apple.
The paceman finished with figures of 4/7 in his four overs, the most economical spell in T20 world cup history.
The wickets tumbled from the onset and continued to fall at regular intervals, with no Sri Lankan batter breaching the 20-run mark on a pitch that made strokeplay look simply impossible.
After bowling their opponents out for 77, the run chase would seemingly be a walk in the park for the South Africans — but no, every run would have to be earned.
Sri Lanka picked up two wickets in the powerplay and four overall as the Proteas required just over 16 overs to get the job done.
A few more runs with a little more composure early on could have turned the whole game on its head. Instead, both sides will take some lessons going into upcoming games, with South Africa next facing the Netherlands on Saturday.
Pictured above: Ainrich Nortje.
Source: ICC
