South Africa beat India to end 12-match win streak; England rout Sri Lanka for 95
AHMEDABAD: South Africa ended India’s 12-match winning streak at the T20 World Cup with a crushing 76-run win in Ahmedabad on Sunday in the opening Group 1 Super Eights match.
After a counter-attacking 63 by David Miller and some late hitting from Tristan Stubbs took South Africa to 187-7, the defending champions were all out for 111 in 18.5 overs, failing badly in their first chase of the tournament.
Left-arm quick Marco Jansen finished with 4-22, while left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj took 3-24 as the South African bowlers exposed India’s fragile batting lineup.
Hot favorites to defend their crown on home soil, India will need to win their two remaining Super Eight games against Zimbabwe and the West Indies to have a chance of qualifying.
But the magnitude of the defeat means they will take a poor net run rate forward and that could prove pivotal if their Super Eights group is tight.
Earlier on Sunday, England routed Sri Lanka for 95 to give captain Harry Brook a perfect birthday present as they opened the T20 World Cup Super Eights phase with a resounding 51-run win in Kandy.
After England were asked to bat first and scored what looked like a below-par 146-9, Jofra Archer and Will Jacks took five wickets during the six-over power play to leave Sri Lanka’s top order in tatters at 34-5.
“That’s a beautiful birthday present,” said Brook, who turned 27 on Sunday.
