A low scoring humdinger at an unusually slow Wanderers saw Sri Lanka edge South Africa by three wickets to level the three-match series. Angelo Mathews overcame a hamstring issue to guide Sri Lanka past a mediocre total after Lungi Ngidi wrecked the chase with a four-wicket haul.
Ngidi and the trio of spinners made it tough for the Lankan batsmen, who did not help their cause by consistently hitting across the line without success. Mathews stood tall amidst the landslide of wickets and sealed the chase in the final over of the match.
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Earlier, Lakshan Sandakan, the chinaman spun a web around the Protea batsmen with a four-wicket haul on debut. The pitch assisted the Lankan spinners and they made full use of it by plugging the runs. None of the South African batsmen looked comfortable at the crease as they were bundled out for 113.
Brief Scores: South Africa 113/10 in 19.3 overs (Kuhn 29, Sandakan 4/23) lost to Sri Lanka 119/7 in 19.4 overs (Mathews 54, Ngidi 4/19)
Take a look at five key moments from the second T20 at Johannesburg:
#5 Heino Kuhn puts his hand up after long hiatus
The 32-year-old wicket-keeper batsman had represented South Africa in five T20s, playing the last of them in 2011, before he was called up to the T20 squad to face Lanka.
Kuhn, who is a feared name in the local cricketing circles, was the leading run scorer in the domestic first-class competition. He carried that form into the international circuit as well as he overcame the early losses of Smuts and de Bruyn to whack a few to the fence.
One of them was a magnificent inside-out six off Sandakan. But Kuhn was dismissed the very next ball, stumped for 29. He, however, gave a glimpse of what he could offer to the side in his brief stint.
#4 Lakshan Sandakan and his googlies
The chinaman is already a familiar name in the international circuit after his celebrated entry to Test cricket against the Aussies in the home series. He bamboozled the confused Aussie batsmen with his variations and excellent control.
The limited overs format is quickly turning in favour of wrist spinners and Sandakan is a worthwhile addition to this Lankan line-up. Apart from offering an X-factor with the ball, Sandakan has much better control than a lot of wrist spinners going around.
Sandakan nipped out a dangerous Mangaliso Mosehle with a wrong 'un with the first ball of his T20 career before getting rid of Heino Kuhn with another googly. The wrist spinner proceeded to remove Parnell and Phehlukwayo in the same over, both with googlies to finish with the best figures on debut by a Sri Lankan in T20s, 4-0-23-4.
#3 Isuru Udana revels on unusually slow Wanderers wicket
The Wanderers is believed to be among the fastest wickets in the world. The famous Bullring is known for intimidating sub-continental teams with pace, bounce and movement.
The Wanderers, however, proved to be on the slower side today as the Lankan spinners wound a web around the South Africa batsmen. The left arm seamer, Isuru Udana, known for his slower deliveries and cutters, reaped the benefits and proceeded to plug the flow of runs.
He had the dangerous Theunis de Bruyn early and proceeded to dismiss Farhaan Behardien, who was starting to look good at the fag end of the innings. With the dismissal of Phangiso, Udana had enviable figures of 2.3-0-13-3.
#2 Lungi Ngidi packs a punch
South Africa had their dream fulfilled when Kagiso Rabada emerged from the under-19 World Cup as a champion bowler and immediately showcased his talent on the world stage.
But it seems like they have more stock coming as Lungi Ngidi of the Titans sparked a spirited performance in the first T20 to walk away with the Man of the Match award. If that was not enough proof, Ngidi started at the Wanderers with some skiddy deliveries that fetched three wickets in his opening burst.
Ngidi dismissed de Silva and Mendis in the same over to provide a great start to the Proteas after their below par batting performance. He then proceeded to remove the dangerous Nirosha Dickwella to cap off a fine opening spell of 3-0-13-3. Ngidi finished off his final over by dismissing Dinesh Chandimal to break a productive partnership.
#1 Angelo Mathews helps Lanka limp over target
Mathews has had a tough time as skipper on this South African tour. Today, his colleagues were hell bent on throwing away an easy run chase to the Proteas by gifting away their wickets.
Mathews, however, took it upon himself to seal the game with a well-made half-century. The Lankan skipper was struck down by a hamstring injury before the final over and was literally hopping about.
But with Lanka close to a finish, Mathews just needed one big hit and Behardien made it easy for him by giving the ball to Jon Jon Smuts, a spinner, instead of targeting Mathews' hamstring with Phehlukwayo, who had two overs left. The Lankan skipper heaved him over long on to seal the chase.
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