ICC World Twenty20, highlights: Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 5 runs in thrilling finish

Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 5 runs in the first Group 1 match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong. Catch highlights here: (Scorecard | Text | Match report)

19:00 (IST): So a crucial win for tournament favourites Sri Lanka against South Africa at Chittagong to start things off in Group 1. We have another game coming up between England and New Zealand at the same venue, which means the start will be a little delayed since this one went a little further than 18:30 IST.

18:35 (IST): Sri Lanka (165/7) beat South Africa (160/8) by 5 runs in a close finish at Chittagong.

 

18:20 (IST): WICKET! Farhaan Behardien c Jayawardene c Kulasekara 5. South Africa 148/6 (18.2 overs) in chase of 166. Need 18 runs off 10 balls to win.

 

18:18 (IST): Sri Lanka are taking things lightly in the fielding department here. South Africa are in a position to win this match now. They need 19 runs off 12 balls. SA 147/5 (18 overs)

 

18:12 (IST): WICKET! Albie Morkel is caught by Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal at wide long on. He made it interesting earlier in this over by hitting two back-to-back sixes. South Africa 137/5 after 17 overs.

 

18:04 (IST): WICKET! JP Duminy c Tillakaratne Dilshan b Sachitra Senanayake 39. Senanayake picks up his 2nd wicket. South Africa 119/4 (15.4 overs)

17:55 (IST): WICKET! AB De Villiers c Kumar Sangakkara b Angelo Mathews 24. South Africa 110/3 (14 overs). That could be the game for Sri Lanka right there. De Villiers looked like the only one who could do the job for South Africa apart from Duminy in this tricky chase of 166.

 

17:53 (IST): A great contest in the 13th over between Lasith Malinga and AB De Villiers, best bowler vs best batsman. Nine came off it. South Africa 103/2 (13 overs)

 

17:40 (IST): WICKET! Hashim Amla c Dilshan b Sachitra Senanayake 23. South Africa 82/2 after 10.5 overs. Captain AB de Villiers comes in to bat now!

17:36 (IST): 16 runs off the over! Duminy gets into the act for South Africa. He got two fours and a six in that over from Thisara Perera. SA 63/1 after 9 overs.

 

17:18 (IST): WICKET! Quinton de Kock b Lasith Malinga 25. South Africa 32/1 (4.3 overs) in chase of 166. This could be a bigger wicket than that of Hashim Amla for Sri Lanka looking at the way De Kock was going about his business.

 

17:13 (IST): South Africa make a bold start in their chase of 166 vs Sri Lanka. 15 runs were scored off the third over including a six and two boundaries from Quinton de Kock. SA 26/0 (3 overs)

 

16:47 (IST): Sri Lanka post 165/7 in 20 overs vs South Africa. Kusal Perera made 61. Angelo Mathews scores 43. Imran Tahir takes 3 wickets.

16:45 (IST): WICKET! Angelo Mathews b Dale Steyn 43. Sri Lanka 160/7 after 19.3 overs. Mathews misses on what could be his 3rd T20I fifty.

 

16:35 (IST): WICKET! Thisara Perera b Morne Morkel 8. Perera missed that one completely. SL 152/6 after 18.3 overs. Crucial wicket for South Africa. They were wanting to reduce the flow of runs in the end and it looks like they have achieved that to some extent.

16:26 (IST): WICKET! Dinesh Chandimal st Quinton de Kock b Imran Tahir 12. Tahir picks up 3. SL 137/5 after 16.5 overs. Sri Lanka have lost the plot here. They were looking at a 170-score with the way Kusal Perera was batting but following his dismissal, there hasn't been anyone else to keep the scoring rate going.

 

16:25 (IST): Last four overs coming up for Sri Lanka. They are 128/4 after 16 overs. Angelo Mathews (24*), Dinesh Chandimal (11*)

 

16:10 (IST): WICKET! Kusal Perera c De Villiers b Imran Tahir 61. Sri Lanka 106/4 in 13.3 overs. The set batsman is gone! Captain Dinesh Chandimal comes in to bat now.

16:09 (IST): Sri Lanka look all set for a big score here. SL 104/3 (13 overs). K Perera (60*), Mathews (13*)

15:57 (IST): Sri Lanka reach 84/3 at the end of 10 overs. Kusal Perera (52*), Angelo Mathews (1*). Angelo Mathews has not missed even a single T20 international since making his debut. Amazing stat!

 

15:52 (IST): WICKET! Kumar Sangakkara c Tsotsobe b Imran Tahir 14. Sri Lanka 83/3 after 9.5 overs.

15:50 (IST): Kusal Perera reaches his 5th T20I fifty in 29 balls. Sri Lanka 80/2 after 8.5 overs.

 

15:40 (IST): JP Duminy has been brought into the attack by South African captain AB de Villiers and he bowls a decent first over giving away 6 singles. Sri Lanka 57/2 after 7 overs. An interesting match on the cards here!

 

15:29 (IST): WICKET! Mahela Jayawardene c Dale Steyn b Morne Morkel 9. Sri Lanka 42/2 after 4.2 overs.

15:23 (IST): Kusal Perera (25* off 13 balls) has taken Sri Lanka to a good start. SL 30/1 (3 overs)

15:13 (IST): WICKET! Dale Steyn bowls a perfect fullish delivery on the off-stump and what was Tillakaratne Dilshan trying to do there! A sweep? He is clean bowled and gone for a duck! There were 17 runs scored from that over though as Kusal Perera lit things up with two boundaries and a six. Sri Lanka 17/1 (1 over)

Playing XIs

South Africa

Q de Kock, HM Amla, JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, DA Miller, F Behardien, JA Morkel, DW Steyn, M Morkel, LL Tsotsobe, Imran Tahir

Sri Lanka

MDKJ Perera, TM Dilshan, DPMD Jayawardene, KC Sangakkara, LD Chandimal, AD Mathews, NLTC Perera, KMDN Kulasekara, SMSM Senanayake, BAW Mendis, SL Malinga

 

14:33 (IST): Sri Lanka win the toss and elect to bat first vs South Africa at Chittagong. Dinesh Chandimal is hopeful that the pitch would assist the spinners later on, whereas South African captain AB de Villiers says he doesn't mind bowling first because their pacers can put Sri Lankan batsmen under pressure early on. Faf du Plessis is not playing the game. We have a double header today as there will be another game between England and New Zealand later on in the evening.

 

 

Preview

Sri Lanka are on the top of table in ICC's Twenty20 rankings. They also have best playing record in 2014 - winning all their limited-overs contests. Winning the Asia Cup has given them an added advantage and experience of excelling in Bangladesh, the venue of this year's ICC World Twenty20. Sri Lanka have reached three ICC tournament finals in the last four years, two in World T20s, but lost all of them. This is also the last tournament for Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene as the duo will retire from T20 internationals. Sri Lanka will have an edge over South Africa as they have been playing in Bangladesh since January.

The side - led by a young Dinesh Chandimal - boasts of players like in-form Lahiru Thirimanne, ODI skipper Angelo Mathews and all-rounder Thisara Perera. The world No. 1 team has a perfect blend of young and veteran players in Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Sri Lanka have played in the final of the tournament twice in the past - in 2009 vs Pakistan and in 2012 vs West Indies - but on both occasions, they ended up as the second best team in the tournament.

The South Africans, currently third in the ICC rankings, will try to shed their eternal bridesmaid tag in yet another world tournament. South Africa have run hot and cold in recent weeks but managed to stay among the top three in all three formats of the game. The South African squad includes short-game specialists such as hard-hitting left-handed batsman David Miller and all-rounder Albie Morkel, who returns to international action after a two-year absence.

Du Plessis, Steyn to undergo fitness test

South African captain Faf du Plessis and pace spearhead Dale Steyn will undergo fitness tests ahead of their opening game in Chittagong. Both du Plessis and Steyn took part in team practice on Friday but have not fully recovered from hamstring injuries. "It's been a pretty intense week for Dale and myself trying to make sure we are 100 percent ready for the game tomorrow," du Plessis said, ahead of the match against world number one Twenty20 team Sri Lanka. (Read more)

Jayawardene, Sangakkara to retire from T20Is

Sri Lankan batting stalwart Mahela Jayawardene will retire from Twenty20 Internationals after the conclusion of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. The decision came a day after another Sri Lankan veteran Kumar Sangakkara announced quitting the shortest format in the international circuit after the Twenty20 World Cup. (Read more)