South Africa v Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I – 5 Talking Points

Sri Lanka finally got off the mark on their tour of South Africa after the islanders defeated the Proteas by 3 wickets at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Left-arm chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan was terrific with the ball and bagged 4 wickets to skittle out the hosts for a paltry 113. Isuru Udana also chipped in with 3 wickets to derail the Proteas progress. Farhaan Behardien chipped in with 27 to propel their score to 113.

Sri Lanka was wrecked early by newcomer Lungisani Ngidi as the youngster finished with impressive figures of 4/19 in his allotted 4 overs. Captain Angelo Mathews played brilliantly and remained unbeaten on 54 of 50 deliveries to guide the visitors to a nail-biting victory. Sri Lanka will be very happy with their performance and will look to seal the series in the 3rd T20I. Here we look at 5 Talking Points from the humdinger

1. Sandakan rips apart the South African top order

Left-arm chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan bowled a dream spell today against the Proteas which enabled the visitors to restrict them under a score of 120. It was sensational bowling from the youngster as he bamboozled the South African top-order with his guile and variations. The left arm spinner came into the attack in the 7th over and got his first wicket in the very first delivery of the spell. It was a beautiful wrong un and deceived the batsman in the flight.

His 2nd wicket came in the 9th over when he dismissed Heino Kuhn after the right-hander had struck him for a gigantic six. It was again bowled beautifully and Kuhn missed it altogether and was stumped by Dinesh Chandimal behind the stumps. He added two more to his kitty in the 12th over when he dismissed tail-enders Wayne Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo in successive deliveries to wipe out the South African tail.

Also read- Twitter Reactions: Sri Lanka managed to keep their nerves in a low-scoring encounter

2. Isuru Udana chips in with 3 wickets

Left-arm pacer Isuru Udana was the perfect foil for Lakshan Sandakan as he finished with impressive figures of 3/13 in his short spell of 2.3 overs. He was introduced in the bowling attack in the 4th over and made an immediate impact by dismissing Theunis de Bruyn in his very first ball. It was a slower delivery and the batsman failed to keep it down and ended up giving an easy catch to deep square leg fielder.

Udana came back into the attack in the 18th over and yet again made an immediate impact. This time he removed the rival captain Farhaan Behardien to reduce the Proteas to 106/8. It was a full-length delivery and Behardien went for an expansive drive. It took the inside edge of the bat and was safely pouched by Dinesh Chandimal behind the stumps. He added one more in a matter of minutes to skittle out the hosts for a paltry score of 113.

3. Farhaan Behardien chips in with fluent innings

As wickets fell at regular intervals, captain Farhaan Behardien was the only South African batsman who added a little bit solidity in the mid innings. He came into the crease with the score at 57/4. He played well for his 27 which included a couple of boundaries. He maneuvered the balls pretty well and ticked along the scoreboard.

He shared a crucial 33 runs partnership with Aaron Phangiso for the 9th wicket which propelled the South African total to 113. After playing a fluent hand, Behardien was dismissed by Isuru Udana in the 18th over of the innings. It was a full-length delivery and Behardien couldn’t control an expansive drive which took the inside edge and was safely grabbed by Dinesh Chandimal behind the stumps.

4. Lungisani Ngidi’s dream spell

After getting bowled out for 113, it required something special from the bowling department to harbor any chances of winning the match and it was exactly what newcomer Lungisani Ngidi did. He induced the edge from Dhananjaya de Sliva in his 2nd over which was safely taken by the wicket-keeper, He added another in a matter of minutes as Kusal Mendis was bowled by a peach of a delivery.

He kept them in the game for a long time and went on to add his 3rd wicket by dismissing Niroshan Dickwella in the 5th over of the innings to reduce the visitors to 35/3. Ngidi came back into the attack in the 15th over and removed Dinesh Chandimal in quick succession but by then Sri Lanka was within striking distance of the target.

5. Angelo Mathews wins it for the hosts 

Captain Angelo Mathews yet again proved that why he is the most experienced batsman in the squad. Coming at a crucial juncture of the game when Sri Lanka had lost early wickets, Mathews played very sensibly and struck some delightful blows to ease off the pressure which was building on the visitors.

He smashed a beautiful half-century which included 3 sixes and a solitary four. He remained there until the end and struck two sixes in consecutive balls to hand Sri Lanka their first win of the tour. Mathews remained unbeaten on 54 of 50 balls as Sri Lanka completed a famous win by 3 wickets with 2 balls left.