South Africa secured a commanding nine-wicket win against Sri Lanka in the second Twenty20 International as they took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
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A commanding display of bowling from Tabraiz Shamsi and Aiden Markram, who took three wickets apiece had broken the back of the Sri Lanka batting. On a pitch that was aiding spin, Sri Lanka floundered in their own conditions. Quinton de Kock’s magnificent fifty helped South Africa chase down a low score and secure a commanding win in the second Twenty20 International. The nine-wicket win gave South Africa an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat, expecting that the pitch would deteriorate and help the spinners even further. But, the fragile nature of Sri Lanka’s batting came back to haunt them as they were bundled out for a woeful score.
Sri Lanka made a disastrous start as Anrich Nortje sent back Dinesh Chandimal cheaply. Kusal Perera looked to attack with a four off Kagiso Rabada but Bhanuka Rajapaksa set the ball rolling. He hit a four and then lofted Rabada inside out over extra cover for a six. After a short rain break, no overs were lost but Sri Lanka looked to attack.
Rajapaksa hit two fours off Markram before disaster struck. Markram bowled a full toss and Rajapaksa chipped it back to the bowler. Rabada, who had leaked 15 runs in his first over, was hit for another four and six, this time by Kusal Perera. Sri Lanka was in a great position at 52/2 in the sixth over. But, the introduction of Tabraiz Shamsi changed the whole match.
In his first over, Shamsi had Dhananjaya de Silva stumped for 4. Dasun Shanaka hit a six off Shamsi but the bowler had his revenge by bowling him through the gate. But, Markram dealt Sri Lanka a body blow as he trapped Kusal Perera LBW for 30. When Bjorn Fortuin sent back Wanindu Hasaranga for 4, Sri Lanka had collapsed in a big way. Shamsi, Fortuin, and Markram ran through the tail as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 103, losing eight wickets for 51 runs.
Chasing a very low target, Quinton de Kock immediately took the attack to the Sri Lanka bowlers by hitting boundaries at will. The left-hander was in fine form against the spinners, thumping Praveen Jayawickrama for two boundaries in the fifth over. The partnership went past fifty in the powerplay with Sri Lanka’s bowlers unable to stop the flow of runs.
Hasaranga gave them a faint sliver of hope when Reez Hendricks top-edged a slog sweep to fall for 18. After another brief rain delay, South Africa ensured the momentum was not lost. Markram hit two fours off Maheesh Theekshana. De Kock notched up his fifty with a four off Hasaranga. South Africa coasted to victory, with Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka later admitting that the team was targeting 140-150 but they could not capitalize.
Shamsi was given the Man of the Match award for his spell and he said the ploy to prepare spinning pitches is backfiring on Sri Lanka. “These pitches take a lot more turn than the ones back home. We need to use it to our advantage and you can see the quality in our bowling. Sri Lanka prepared spinning wickets and we fought fire with fire. I put my heart and soul into the team. It’s just the emotions of my hard work coming out in my celebrations,” Shamsi said.
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