Published: Aug 02, 2013, 08:41 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 02, 2013, 08:41 PM (IST)
Sachithra Senanayake was pick of the bowlers claiming 3 for 14 © AFP
Aug 2, 2013
South Africa managed to reach 115 for six after Sri Lankan off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake strangled them with three quick wickets early in the innings in the first T20 International at Colombo on Friday. JP Duminy’s 51 was the only bright spot in South Africa’s innings.
South Africa, who elected to bat, looked to change their fortunes after a disastrous ODI series. Sri Lanka, the No 1 T20 side kept the Proteas on a tight leash. The Lankan bowlers were right on target and the popular option of bringing a spinner upfront in a T20 format worked beautifully for the home side.
Senanayake’s off-spinners brought rewards in the second over of the evening as Quinton de Kock was caught plumb in front. Even Henry Davids was caught awkwardly in front of the wicket in the off-spinner’s next over. In no time South Africa slipped to 23 for three as Faf du Plessis missed a straight delivery from Senanayake.
Now the aim was to bat the allotted 20 overs as AB de Villiers and JP Duminy looked to resurrect the innings. In the 10th over, skipper Dinesh Chandimal missed a sharp catch off Angelo Mathews’ bowling but the loss was made up in the next delivery by Kusal Perera who took a brilliant catch running in from sweeper cover.
From thereon, JP Duminy and David Miller tried to restore some respectability with their positive intent even though the runs were hard to come by. Lasith Malinga eventually managed to snap the wicket of Miller who tried to slice the ball over covers and ended up being caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan.
With only seven balls remaining after Miller’s wicket, the visitors had no option but to slog at everything. Ajantha Mendis, bowling the last over, kept a tidy line and managed to dismiss Duminy for 51 runs. Though the Premadasa wicket is known to be sluggish as seen during the ODIs, it surely wasn’t as bad as the South African total indicates. The home side will look to keep things simple and chase the low score without any hassles.
Brief scores
South Africa 115 for 6 in 20 overs (JP Duminy 51, David Miller 25; Sachithra Senanayake 3 for 14) vs Sri Lanka
