Twitter Reactions: Aiden Markram shines as South Africa register comprehensive win over Sri Lanka in 1st T20I

After suffering a 2-1 defeat in the ODI series, South Africa made an emphatic comeback in the opening T20I and registered a 23-run win. It was indeed a clinical performance by the Proteas side as Sri Lanka were on the back foot in the major part of the contest. As a result, they failed to chase down 164 and lost the opening T20I.

Earlier in the game, South Africa won the toss and unsurprisingly, opted to bat at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The decision proved to be fruitful as openers Quinton de Kock (36) and Reeza Hendricks (38) gave the visitors a flying start. With the track being on the slower side, both openers were careful but they didn’t mind dispatching the loose deliveries over the ropes.

Aiden Markram shines again 

After adding 73 runs, the duo got dismissed in quick succession and Sri Lanka looked back in the hunt. However, Aiden Markram (48) continued his sensational and played another brilliant knock. The dasher scored runs quickly to dent the home team further. He got a potent partner in David Miller who also played several delightful shots.

Riding on their prowess, the visiting team posted 163/5. Chasing the tricky total, Sri Lanka got a steady start with openers Avishka Fernando and Dinesh Chandimal adding 34 runs for the first wicket. However, once Avishka got run-out, things fell in South Africa’s favour. The likes of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Charith Asalanka couldn’t make a significant impact as the hosts suffered a batting collapse.

However, Dinesh Chandimal (66) didn’t put his guards down and continued to score runs from one end. Despite losing partners from the other end, the veteran wicketkeeper-batter made South African bowlers work hard and scored a well-paced half-century. In the end overs, he and Chamika Karunaratne (22) did play some big shots. However, they could narrow down the margin of defeat.

As a result, Sri Lanka was restricted to 135/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Aiden Markram was unsurprisingly named the Player of the Match for his spectacular knock. Notably, South Africa are now 1-0 up in the three-match series. Hence, a win in the next contest would seal the deal for them. Hence, Sri Lanka need to put up a much better show in the second T20I.

Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitterati reacted to South Africa’s win:

South Africa have now won 7 of their last 9 T20Is 🤯 Don't discount @OfficialCSA out of the @T20WorldCup !!!#SLvSA #SouthAfrica #Cricket #Proteas #T20WorldCup #t20worldcup2021 #AskTheExperts pic.twitter.com/ffbczyrtyu

— sivy 🇳🇿 (@Sivy62) September 10, 2021

South Africa's innings
First 10 overs
73 runs, 1 wicket, run rate – 7.30
Last 10 overs
90 runs, 4 wickets, run rate – 9.00
Sri Lanka's innings
First 10 overs
57 runs, 2 wickets, run rate – 5.70
Last 10 overs
78 runs, 4 wickets, run rate – 7.80#SLvSA

— Kevin Kularatne (@KevinKularatne) September 10, 2021

First Match & First Match Also Captain For Maharaj And First Victory For Maharaj As Captain – South Africa Beat Sri Lanka By 28 Runs – Chandimal Remain Unbeaten 66 Runs On 54 Balls Including 5 Fours & 1 Six#SLvSA

— Inayat (@CricCrazyInayat) September 10, 2021

66 in 54 would’ve been brilliant if we were chasing 130 to win. But the target was 164. Chandimal got to 50 in 40 balls. Only 16 runs in the next 14 balls. He was not out at the end of the innings and we lost by 28. #SLvSA

— Rukhshan (@rukhshan) September 10, 2021

https://twitter.com/darpanjain103/status/1436374692219158532

I dont know why, I think @OfficialCSA team doesn't have that genuine spirit which every cricket fan loved including me..#SLvSA

— Namal Fernando (@NamalFernando) September 10, 2021

Captaining on T20I debut, picking up a wicket first ball and leading his side to a clinical victory – surely Keshav Maharaj couldn't have anticipated this sort of fairytale script? A dream game if there ever was one #SLvSA

— Soorya Sesha (@sooryasesha7) September 10, 2021

The hosts were clearly outplayed by the Proteas tonight.

South Africa had 31 dot-balls in their innings. Sri Lanka had 49 dots in their chase.

Was this the difference between winning and losing? #SLvSA @ThePapareSports pic.twitter.com/2syO85civn

— Damith Weerasinghe (@Damith1994) September 10, 2021

How Chamika has not progressed in this batting order is something need to addressed, 160+ is a par t20 score, SL made it like 200#SLvSA

— 𝖆𝖇𝖚𝖞𝖚𝖘𝖚𝖋🇱🇰 (@abuyusuf201) September 10, 2021

Bad day in office for Charith Asalanka. 3 off 19, made the difference at the end for losing overs. Need Kusal Perera to Open and Chandimal to bat at 3. DDS and Asalanka next, then the all-rounders and the bowlers. #SLvSA

— Meth Hettihewa (@methhettihewa) September 10, 2021

Keshav Maharaj in the first T20 vs Sri Lanka:

– T20I debut.
– 1/19 from 4 overs.
– South Africa won the match by 28 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 10, 2021