AB de Villiers’s 79 not out provided the platform for South Africa to crush Scotland by 130 runs in the Proteas’ opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Oval on Sunday.
Scotland, chasing a target of 212 after South Africa made 211 for five, slumped to 81 all out.
“We played beautifully today,” South Africa captain Graeme Smith told reporters. “We had a few more nerves after watching the first few days of the tournament [who started with minnows Netherlands beating England], so today it was important to send a message.”
Scotland collapsed to 13 for four inside three overs and only Kyle Coetzer’s gutsy 42 off 32 balls prevented an even greater margin of defeat.
Scotland could also take some consolation from the performance of off-spinner Majid Haq, who took two wickets in four balls to remove openers Jacques Kallis and South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who put on 87.
This crushing reverse ended minnows Scotland’s slim hopes of qualifying for the second phase Super Eights after their seven-wicket loss to New Zealand, the other team in Group D, in a rain-affected match at the Oval on Saturday.
South Africa quick Dale Steyn bowled Ryan Watson off the fifth ball of the reply and, after Hamilton fell to Wayne Parnell, two wickets were lost with the score on 13.
Navdeep Poonia was run out needlessly for nought before Colin Smith was bowled first ball by a Steyn yorker.
Scotland briefly staunched the flow of wickets before Neil McCallum was bowled by off-spinner Johan Botha to leave his side 35 for five. When South Africa batted, Kallis dragged a sweep against Haq onto his stumps having faced 31 balls with eight fours.
And three balls later Smith got a top-edge off Haq which was caught by Scotland wicket-keeper Colin Smith.
Scotland put a brake on the run-rate and when Herschelle Gibbs was stumped by Smith off Watson, South Africa were 125 for three in the 15th over.
But the Proteas scored 83 runs off the last five overs although the last over did see Coetzer take a brilliant catch, diving backwards, to get rid of Mark Boucher.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two