ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, Group D, New York
Sri Lanka 77 (19.1 overs): Nortje 4-7, Rabada 2-21, Maharaj 2-22
South Africa 80-4 (16.2 overs): De Kock 20 (27); Hasaranga 2-22
South Africa wins by 6 wickets
Scorecard. Table
South Africa kicked off their T20 World Cup campaign with a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka as concerns surfaced in New York about the drop-in pitch.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 77 runs – their lowest in a T20 game – with only three batsmen reaching double figures, the highest being 19 from 30 balls by Kusal Mendis.
Anrich Nortje recorded his career-best T20 haul of four and seven for South Africa, while Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj picked up two wickets each.
Faced with low scoring conditions, the South African batsmen tried to play smart on a difficult court and managed to reach the target with 22 balls remaining.
Quinton de Kock hit one bounding line to top score with 20 points, but the usually explosive Tristan Stubbs stifled his offensive instincts and finished with just 13 points for the 28 points.
Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of both South African batsmen to give Sri Lanka a brief boost with scores of 2-22.
Heinrich Klaassen, who finished with 19 not out, led the Proteas to victory along with David Miller, who hit the winner and finished the match with an unbeaten six.
New York cricket fairytale, pitch worries
The pinnacle of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) American Dream for this World Cup is the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
Set amid the tranquil surroundings of lush Eisenhower Park, named for the 34th President of the United States, this gleaming compound is sure to be an eye-catching, if temporary, structure.
With the ICC's efforts to popularise the game in the US, pulling it all together in such a short space of time for this tournament is a commendable achievement.
A crowd of 12,562 watched the historic first World Cup match in New York and, despite heavy security, fans – most of whom were Sri Lankan residents – reported few problems getting in.
But the spectacle at the centre hardly brought supporters to their feet, and there was no spectacular stroke play to pique the interest of potential fans of the sport.
The high-stakes nature of the matches inevitably meant that the drop-in pitches used for the eight matches here were subject to intense scrutiny.
They were grown in Australia, shipped to Florida and then trucked to Adelaide Oval and planted by groundskeeper Damien Hough and his team.
Before the tournament, Huff said he had “no worries” and was hoping for fast, bouncy balls, but the pace was just too fast this time.
ICC officials had boasted about the size of the ground before the tournament, but batsmen were unable to generate enough power to get the ball over the ropes. Narrowing the boundaries could improve the situation.
Angelo Mathews hit two sixes but he was caught in the deep and was one of five Sri Lankan batsmen to die, giving South Africa the equal number of maximums for Sri Lanka – three.
By comparison, the U.S.-Canada season opener in Dallas, on a well-maintained natural grass pitch, saw 21 sixes.
Matthews also had an unsettling bounce to the ball, coming in slowly at 37 and delivering a ball in the mid-70mph range that soared off the pitch and hit Aiden Markram in the groin.
A few overs later, Nuwan Thushara and Dasun Shanaka's deliveries skidded low and the outfield throws also failed to result in any runs. No attempt is made to let a bowler down, but Nortje's control of the delivery was superb.
Cricket's New York fairytale has only just begun, but with India facing Pakistan on Sunday, there are fears that the world's biggest cricket match could be affected by a poor pitch.
