ODI World Cup 2023: South Africa win by 102 runs against Sri Lanka

South Africa opened their World Cup 2023 campaign in style with a comprehensive win over Sri Lanka. South Africa won the match by 102 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.

Kusal Mendis demolishes South African bowlers

While Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera opened the batting for Sri Lanka, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen opened the bowling for South Africa. Jansen dismissed Nissanka in the second over with just his first ball of the World Cup. At the fall of the first wicket, Kusal Mendis entered the crease. From that point on, it was a hard-hitting masterclass from him. For the second wicket, Mendis and Perera combined for a 66-run partnership. Due to Mendis’s batting, Perera had made no contributions when that partnership reached 50 runs. They eventually combined for 66 runs, with Perera only contributing 7 of them. In the eighth over, Jansen struck out Perera immediately before the powerplay.  Mendis was dismissed after scoring 76 runs in 42 balls hitting four fours and eight sixes.

South African bowlers bring the match in their grip

In the thirteenth over, Kagiso Rabada dismissed Mendis. Rabada delivered a short ball that Mendis attempted to cut, but the ball took a thick outside edge and went straight to the keeper. Gerald Coetzee dismissed Sadeera Samarawickrama in the following over. Samarawickrama was unable to make much of a difference. Samarawickrama struck three fours and a six to score 23 runs in just 19 balls. Andile Phehlukwayo, a subfielder, made a nice catch to get rid of Dhananjaya de Silva. In brief 11-ball innings, De Silva scored 14 runs while hitting one four.

After that, Charith Asalanka and captain Dasun Shanaka shared an 82-run partnership in which Asalanka took the initiative. During the partnership, Asalanka scored 52 runs in just 37 balls while Shanaka scored 24 runs in 35 balls. When Lungi Ngidi dismissed Asalanka in the 32nd over, the partnership was subsequently broken. Asalanka was dismissed as a result of a slower ball outside off. The Sri Lankan batsman smashed eight fours and four sixes while scoring 79 runs in 65 balls. Dunith Wellalage was removed by Coetzee for a golden duck just three balls later.

Shanaka began to target South African bowlers once there were no known batters left on the other end. In just 26 balls, Shanaka scored 43 runs while partnering with Kasun Rajitha. He hit four fours and a six in Coetzee’s 37th over of bowling. Keshav Maharaj then clean bowled Shanaka. Shanaka hit six fours and three sixes in his innings of 68 runs off 62 balls.