Spinners help Sri Lanka stun South Africa in T20 World Cup opener

Chamari Athapaththu's half-century and an excellent performance with the ball set up Sri Lanka's thrilling three-run victory in the T20 World Cup opener against South Africa in Cape Town on Friday (February 10). Despite a slow first half, Sri Lanka managed to post 129 for 4 thanks to Athapaththu's 50-ball 68 - which included 12 boundaries - and her 89-run association for the second wicket with Vishmi Gunaratne (35 off 34). The bowlers then got into the act as Inoka Ranaweera (3-18), Oshadi Ranasinghe (2-20) and Sugandika Kumari (2-28) delivered regular strikes, with the latter defending 12 in the final over to help Sri Lanka stun South Africa.

The South African openers got off to a steady start, scoring three boundaries between them in the first four overs. But the partnership came to an end in the fifth as Ranasinghe had Tazmin Brits slicing a catch to cover to dismiss her for 12 in her first over, and also gave away only two runs. Marizanne Kapp struck a boundary off Sugandika in the final over of the powerplay as South Africa got 38 in the first six overs. Kapp, however, fell in the eighth over attempting to hit Ranaweera over mid on and the bowler also bagged the wicket of Laura Wolvaardt to leave South Africa in a spot of bother at 53/3 in the 10th over.

South Africa found themselves in further trouble as Sugandika had Chloe Tryon caught at long on and Anneke Bosch bowled off an inside edge as they slipped to 72/5 in the 13th over. The required rate rose over 10 when the 16th over was completed, with skipper Sune Luus being the key for the hosts who found themselves under a lot of pressure. Luus struck a six off Ranasinghe but Nadine de Klerk fell in the same over, leaving South Africa with 33 to get off the last three overs.

A couple of boundaries for Sinalo Jafta off Kavisha Dilhari brought the equation to 20 off 12 deliveries. Sri Lanka missed a run-out opportunity in the penultimate over but Ranaweera got the big wicket of Luus, having the South African captain stumped for 28. Shabnim Ismail struck her first ball for a four but Jafta was run out soon after. Needing 13 to win off the last over, Ismail managed a couple off the first ball bowled by Sugandika but was run out the next ball attempting a couple. Sugandika, the experienced left-arm spinner, delivered an excellent over under pressure, giving away nine to deliver a winning start to Sri Lanka's campaign.

Earlier, after being asked to bat, Athapaththu had an early reprieve as 'keeper Sinalo Jafta put down a catch while driving across to an edge created by Ismail. Meanwhile, both the Sri Lankan openers did not find scoring easy, with Ismail even bowling a maiden to Harshitha Madavi. The boundary drought ended in the fourth over as Athapaththu slammed a cover drive off Kapp and also struck two successive boundaries off Nonkululeko Mlaba while Madavi played a scoop shot off Ayabonga Khaka for a four. But Sri Lanka could get only 28 in the powerplay and they also lost their first wicket soon after as de Klerk had Madavi caught at short mid-wicket.

The next batter, Gunaratne, also took some time to get going while Athapaththu had to shoulder the responsibility of getting the bulk of the runs. The Lankan skipper struck two fours off de Klerk but Sri Lanka managed only 45 in the first 10 overs, struggling to find any momentum. Athapaththu provided the much-needed impetus with three fours in a row off de Klerk in the 11th over, driving a couple through cover before pulling one over mid-wicket. Gunaratne played a paddle shot off Mlaba for her first four and followed it up with three fours in succession off Ismail to bring up the half-century stand off 36 balls.

Athapaththu got to a 42-ball fifty and then struck another hat-trick of boundaries off de Klerk as Sri Lanka went past 100 in the 16th over. The second wicket stand came to an end when a direct hit from Brits caught Gunaratne short of the crease. In the same over, Kapp got the wicket of Athapaththu thanks to a fine catch from de Klerk in the deep. The wicket of the set batters and tight bowling from South Africa meant that Sri Lanka could only manage 15 in the last three overs to finish with a sub-par total.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 129/5 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 68, Vishmi Gunaratne 35; Marizanne Kapp 1-15) beat South Africa 126/9 in 20 overs (Sune Luus 28; Inoka Ranaweera 3-18, Oshadi Ranasinghe 2-20) by 3 runs.