South Africa started the tournament on a resounding note with a 6-wicket win over Sri Lanka at Nassau Cricket Ground, New York on 3rd June 2024. Speedster Anrich Nortje registered the best figures by a South African bowler in T20 World Cup history.
Chasing down a modest target of 78 runs to win, South Africa got off to a worst possible start losing the wickets of Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram. De Kock and Tristian Stubbs steadied the ship with singles and hitting occasional boundaries. de Kock provided a simple catch to Hasranga.
Soon after Stubbs was caught by Asalanaka for leaving South Africa in some trouble. Klassen showed his class with some lusty blows to help the Proteas win the match by six wickets with 22 balls to spare. Klassen struggled against top quality bowling of Sri Lanka.
Thusara dismissed Reeza Hendricks while Shanaka got rid of Aiden Markram. South Africa made 27 for 2 in the first six overs.
Anrich Nortje Broke His Own Record
Sri Lankan captain Hasranga won the toss and decided to bat first. Baartman got his debut wicket by dismissing Pathum Nissanka. Nortje was introduced into the attack in the 8th over and struck immediately dismissing Kamindu Mendis with a good catch by Reeza Hendricks giving away just 2 runs.
Nortje dismissed Kusal Mendis in his 2nd over with a sharp delivery caught by Stubbs at deep square leg giving away just 4 runs 1 leg bye. He then took another wicket in his 3rd over getting rid of Charith Asalanaka with just 2 runs leaving Sri Lanka 46 for 6.
Nortje got rid of last established batter Angelo Mathews in his final over taking top edge with an easy catch to finish with figures of 4 for 7 in 4 overs. Nortje and other South African bowlers kept it tight taking wickets at regular intervals to bowl out Sri Lanka for 77 in 19.1 overs. Nortje finished with figures of 4 for 7 in 4 overs.
He broke his own record of 4 for 10 in 3.3 overs during the 2022 edition of the World Cup against Bangladesh in Sydney. Nortje returned to the squad after recovering from an injury. For his 4 for 7, Nortje was named the player of the match award.
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