Wanindu Hasaranga took his first T20 hat-trick as South Africa prevailed against Sri Lanka in a nail-biter in Sharjah. With 15 needed to win from tje final over David Miller smacked two back to back sixes to make it an easy win for the Proteas. This win keeps them in the hunt, as Sri Lanka now have a tough road moving forward.

South Africa were going cautiously when Wanindu Hasaranga picked up his first wicket that of Aiden Markram in 14th over. He picked up his wicket in the final delivery off the over to keep his hat-trick chances alive.

Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka brought him back in the 18th over. He first dismissed South African skipper Temba Bavuma in the first delivery of the over to back it up with Dwaine Pretorius’s dismissal to bag his maiden T20 hat-trick.

Aiden Markram’s wicket was the ideal opening that Sri Lanka wanted but David Miller’s cameo, in the end, helped South Africa edge Sri Lanka in a nail-biter.

Hasaranga already has a hat-trick in ODIs and he joins an elite list Brett Lee, Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera as other bowlers who have done the double of hat-tricks in ODIs and T20Is.

Wanindu Hasaranga Bags Maiden T20I Hat-Trick

Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka explained the reason why he went with Lahiru Kumara to bowl the final over. He went for 20 off his first three overs and the 15 run-over meant that he went for 35 run off his spell.

” 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 Wanidu 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” said Shanaka.

Protean skipper Temba Bavuma who found it tough with the bat in the middle was elated after his team’s win. He gave his boys the due credit of taking the game deep and ultimately winning it.

“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” said Bavuma.

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