Athapaththu, spinners help Sri Lanka pull off an upset in T20 World Cup opener
Only Sune Luus crosses 20 for South Africa as the hosts fail to chase down 130
Only Sune Luus crosses 20 for South Africa as the hosts fail to chase down 130
Scorer: Binoy George | Commentator: @himanshu_a30
So the tournament starts with a thriller, and with an upset. Pretty much one hit separated the two sides, with the match going down to the last ball. Sri Lanka get off the mark on the opening day, as we wrap it up for the night. Thanks for your company though, and don't forget to join us for the double-header tomorrow. Until then, it is goodnight and goodbye from Hemant, Binoy and me, Himanshu!
Duncan Ward: "What an advert for this tournament! Amazing game, swung both ways and back again in that innings. Well done Sri Lanka. Roll on the rest of the tournament!"
Chamari Athapaththu, the winning captain: "There is good culture in the team. Players are very committed. The wicket was really good for batters; had I won the toss, I would have batted first. We have upset big teams on a couple of occasions... I hope my team can do better in this World Cup. Really happy to see the crowd here"
Sune Luus speaks first: "Sri Lanka had a good partnership; we lacked that partnership. I thought 130 was par score. The ball was coming on to the bat nicely. The World Cup still has a long way to go. Lot of positives going into the next couple of games"
Time for the presentations
Alex: "Blimey. That was fun. Great game to start the tournament"
Chamari Athapaththu is the Player of the Match: "Really happy... I tried to lead from the front. It was a team performance. South Africa are one of the best in the world, and playing at home. Vishmi is a superstar, our Under-19 captain. I just play my natural game."
Vihanga Ismail: "Cough, cough, cough... South Africa"
10.16pm A tight win where the chase never really got going. Each of South Africa's top four faced at least 12 deliveries, but the highest score remained Luus' 28, which took 27 balls coming. What was 44 for 1 in the eighth over - notice the slow run rate already - became 72 for 5 in the 13th. Ranaweera, Ranasinghe and Kumari shared seven wickets, after Sri Lanka were boosted by Athapaththu's 68 and Gunaratne's 35 with the bat. Wickets fell in clusters for the hosts, and even if some extras contributed to their score, they just fell short eventually.
9 off 3
Mlaba
S Ismail run out 7 (9m 4b 1x4 0x6) SR: 175.00
13 off 6. Kumari to Ismail, with Sri Lanka also facing the over-rate penalty; only three fielders on the rope
"Everyone thinks Sri Lanka has average players and are an average side, so if we lose, that's no problem for us," Athapaththu says
Only Sune Luus crosses 20 for South Africa as the hosts fail to chase down 130
She has been carrying the team almost on her own but feels that with a lot of youngsters coming through, she can play freely now