Tahir takes charge to give South Africa winning start
Spinner’s clever variations end Sri Lanka’s run chase Amla’s effortless century sets up comfortable win
Imran Tahir has played for more than 25 teams, from the Rising Pune Supergiants to Pakistan Under-19s, from Middlesex to the formidable Water and Power Development Authority in Lahore. But the green of South Africa invariably seems to bring out the best in him. Here again, the windmill action and whirling celebration were out in force as Tahir’s four wickets sealed a comfortable victory for South Africa in their opening Group B fixture.
Not for nothing is Tahir the world’s leading spin bowler in the 50-over format, second only to his team-mate Kagiso Rabada in the world rankings.
On a pitch that offered just enough grip to give him value, his canny drift and clever variations broke the back of a Sri Lanka chase that seemed to be motoring. It was his sixth four-wicket haul in one-day internationals, and brought back memories of the 2015 World Cup quarter-final in Sydney against the same opposition, which he also swung in South Africa’s favour.
And so South Africa, one of the pretournament favourites, began their campaign without threatening to hit top gear. Their total of 299, which was bolstered by an effortless 103 by Hashim Amla but flagged at the decisive moment, looked around 20-30 runs short. Faf du Plessis made a fluent 75 and JP Duminy chipped in with a few agricultural hits at the end, but overall the sense was of an opportunity missed.
So it proved when opener Niroshan Dickwella got Sri Lanka off to a storming start. They were 94 for one in 12th over, but after Dickwella departed for 41 off 33 balls, disciplined bowling, razor-sharp fielding and parodic Sri Lankan running between the wickets allowed South Africa to reassert control. Tahir did the rest, and the handsome margin of victory will serve South Africa well if, as is possible, qualification comes down to net run rate.
Sri Lanka began with low expectations, and still failed to meet them. This is a team in uneasy transition, an assortment of grizzled veterans like Lasith Malinga and Upul Tharanga, raw youngsters like Kusal Mendis and journeyman makeweights. Injured captain Angelo Mathews was missed, not so much for his hitting or his tidy seam-up but for the composure he offers.
Their two remaining games, against India and Pakistan, offer faint hope of salvation, but the gulf in class between the well-drilled South Africans and the well-beaten Sri Lankans was evident. Contrast South Africa’s fielding, epitomised by A B de Villiers’s masterful pick-up and throw to run out Dinesh Chandimal, with the attempt by Malinga to take a simple catch on the boundary to dismiss Du Plessis.
Planting his heels on the boundary rope to position and steady himself, Malinga looked up to realise he had forgotten the most important part: the ball, which landed several yards in front of him, with Malinga tumbling forward and barely getting a hand to it.
Malinga’s drop was not only comical but pivotal, too. South Africa were 59 for one in the 17th over, after a sluggish start. It was a surface lacking the pace and bounce of the strip on which England and Bangladesh shared 613 runs on Thursday, and it took both Amla and Du Plessis the best part of an hour to look comfortable on it.
But as the middle overs progressed, exposing Sri Lanka’s painfully thin bowling reserves, they squeezed the accelerator. Amla took a liking to the leg-spin of Seekkuge Prasanna, whose 10 overs disappeared for 72 runs. Four wickets in nine overs put the brakes on, and when Sri Lanka took apart Rabada’s opening spell, it was game on. Rabada made way after four unhappy overs and it was left to Morne Morkel to make the breakthrough, getting Dickwella caught.
Cue De Villiers. With the score 116 for two and Sri Lanka still just about ahead on points, he ran around from extra cover to half-stop an off-drive by Chandimal. As the batsmen stole a quick single, De Villiers scrambled to his feet, grabbed the ball and threw down the stumps, off-balance, with Chandimal inches out of his ground. “Those moments happen when you build a bit of pressure,” De Villiers said. “It’s always important to take those opportunities.”
Tahir mopped up the lower order. “I love seeing that passion,” De Villiers said. “He’s earned the right to go a little bit overboard sometimes.”
South Africa will not be going overboard. Tougher tests lie ahead, but if we learned anything it is that their recent series defeat to England probably undersold their quality. The tournament remains open, and at this stage South Africa look as well-placed as anyone to put a dent in it.