Behardien points to pitch after T20 loss to Sri Lanka
STAND-in Proteas T20 captain, Farhaan Behardien, has expressed his disappointment with the pitch at the Wanderers‚ saying it felt like they were in Colombo on Sunday, rather than in Johannesburg.
Sri Lanka squared the series at 1-1 after beating the Proteas by three wickets at the Wanderers in the second T20 international.
The normally batting-friendly Wanderers was tacky and slow‚ that suited Sri Lanka’s spinners.
The visitors exploited the conditions well‚ even though they needed a well-paced 50 from captain, Angelo Mathews, to eventually run out victors against South Africa.
Sri Lanka bundled South Africa out for 113 but they needed the best part of 19 overs to overhaul the miniscule target.
“We’re very disappointed because we played right into Sri Lanka’s hands‚” Behardien said.
“They played three spinners and it felt like we were playing in Colombo. “There are normally lots of runs here and this is normally a highscoring ground but we played right into their hands.
“They came into the game by picking seamers and they changed their team at the last minute by looking at the wicket. “That’s why I chose to bat first‚” Behardien said.
“It was a decision based on the wicket because it was very abrasive‚ it was dry and we felt that if we could get between 130-140‚ we could have been contending for the game.
“We were about 20 runs short and, yes, our batting was frenetic. That surface brought their spinners into play and that’s something we didn’t want in our own conditions.
“We were very disappointed with the Wanderers.”
The flip side of Behardien’s disappointment was Sri Lanka coach Graeme Ford’s happiness at the end of what has been a difficult tour.
The week before‚ Sri Lanka could not get past the third day of the third Test as they were rolled over on a seaming monster. They lost 16-wickets in just under three sessions as their batting failed while their spinners were neutralised.
The tired surface was the type that Sri Lanka’s chinaman bowler and debutante, Lakshan Sandakan, thrived on and his 4/23 proved to be the difference‚ despite Proteas’ quick, Lungi Ngidi’s best efforts with his 4/19. Ford admitted to being surprised when he saw a Wanderers strip that was uncharacteristically tailored for the visitors.
“We looked at the stats and we thought this was going to be a highscoring game, but when we saw the pitch‚ we knew it was going to be a different story.
“It was a good toss to lose because it was going to be tough to know what was going to be a good score.
“Unlike the other night where the wet ball didn’t suit our cricket‚ the conditions suited us nicely‚” Ford said. — TMG