Sports
Klaasen powers South Africa to ruthless victory
South Africa demolished Australia at Supersport Park, Centurion by 164 runs to make a stunning comeback into the series, equalising 2-2 after being 0-2 down after the first two matches. The win came on the back of Heinrich Klaasen’s brutal 174, featuring an equally fiery 82* by David Miller, both of whom were due a big knock in this series. The two put on a double-century stand, which came off just 87 balls, and essentially batted Australia out of the game by setting them a target of 417.
Chasing 417, Australia lost David Warner early trying to get going in a big chase, caught at cover point by David Miller off Lungi Ngidi. Mitchell Marsh followed soon after, caught in front by Lungi Ngidi, and reviewed unsuccessfully, which wasn’t a complete waste, given that it was only clipping leg stump. Travis Head, who had already been struck on the arm once, received another blow on his left hand trying to cut a Gerald Coetzee delivery, and retired hurt in agonising pain.
Carey, the next man in, wasn’t mucking around and got on with things, top-edging a fortuitous six off his third ball. However, while Carey kept the boundaries flowing on one end, Marnus Labuschagne soon nicked off to Marco Jansen, and as did Marcus Stoinis to Rabada, 26 runs later, leaving Australia’s chase in tatters. Tim David and Alex Carey gave Australia a glimmer of hope with a stand of 72 runs off 49 balls, and there was an air of panic when Tim David hit Gerald Coetzee for consecutive sixes. However, a stunning catch from Markram sent David on his way, after which the tail was exposed.
South Africa didn’t budge, bringing in the big guns to finish the job, as Rabada and Ngidi ran through the tail, aggregating seven wickets between them. Rabada got Carey nicking behind on 99, for what would be the last wicket of the match, given that Travis Head’s injury didn’t allow him to bat again.
Earlier, South Africa were asked to bat first and started the innings sedately, before a fifty-run stand was ended by Nathan Ellis who knocked over Reeza Hendricks for 28. de Kock followed soon after, trying to up the ante, and the wicket of Markram caused alarms in the South African camp. However, a fifty from Rassie van der Dussen, managed to rescue South Africa from a hole. This was followed by a historic double-hundred partnership between Heinrich Klaasen (174) and David Miller (82*), off just 87 deliveries, including a jaw-dropping 173 runs in the final 10 overs, resulting in a total of 416-5 in 50 overs – a total that proved more than enough for Australia.
This result brings South Africa back into the series, as they equalized 2-2 after being 0-2 down, taking it to the finale at the Wanderers – the very venue where another tie-breaker was played between the two sides over 17 years ago.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 416-5 in 50 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 174, David Miller 82*, Josh Hazlewood 2-79) beat Australia 252 all-out in 34.5 overs (Alex Carey 99, Lungi Ngidi 4-51, Kagiso Rabada 3-41) by 164 runs
(Cricbuzz)
A 36 ball 63 by Sahan Arachchige and three wickets each by Eshan Malinga [3-13] and Tharindu Rathnayake [3-19] helped Galle Gallants defeat Jaffna Kings by 60 runs in the 10th match of the Lanka Premier League 2026. Galle Gallants lead the points table with three wins from four outings.
Scores:
Galle Gallants 193/8 in 20 overs [Chris Lynn 46, Sahan Arachchige 63, Dasun Shanaka 12, Dinura Kalupahana 10, Mohammad Nawaz 27; Mohamed Shiraz 1-23, Dunith Wellalage 1-13, Shakib Al Hasan 1-27, Dilshan Madushanaka 2-35, Lizaad Williams 2-37]
Jaffna Kings 133 in 17.5 overs [Kamil Mishara 15, Ibrahim Zadran 11, David Weise 22, Dunith Wellalage 56; Dasun Shanaka 1-21, Tharindu Rathnayake 3-19, Akif Javed 1-22, Eshan Malinga 3-13, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 1-32]
Half centuries by Rubin Hermann and Janith Liyanage and a three wicket haul by Mujeeb Ur Rahman helped Colombo Kaps defeat Kandy Royals by 24 runs in the 9th match of the Lanka Premier League 2026 played at Dambulla on Thursday [23rd July]’
Scores:
Colombo Kaps 192/9 in 20 overs [Rubin Hermann 53, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 14, Janith Liyanage 52*, James Neesham 24, Binura Fernando 21; Vijay Shankar 1-0, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-34, Nuwan Thushara 1-31, Moeen Ali 2-31, Dushan Hemantha 2-20]
Kandy Royals 169/8 in 20 overs [Kusal Perera 19, Dale Phillips 38, Vijay Shankar 30, Angelo Mathews 39*, Dushan Hemantha 11*; Shahnawaz Dahani 1-35, Wanuja Sahan 1-24, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3-34, Malsha Tharupathi 1-29, James Neesham 1-07]
Hosts Sri Lanka made a winning start to their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV campaign, edging out Qatar 2-1 in a closely contested opening-day tie at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts in Colombo on Wednesday.
The visitors struck first when Mubarak Alharrasi defeated Sri Lanka’s Apna Perera 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a hard-fought opening singles encounter, giving Qatar an early 1-0 lead.
Sri Lanka bounced back in the second singles as Thehan Wijemanne produced a spirited comeback to overcome Mossa Alharrasi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. After dropping the opening set, Wijemanne showed great composure to win the next two sets and level the tie at 1-1.
The decisive doubles match proved to be a tense affair, with Apna Perera returning to partner Saha Kapilasena. The Sri Lankan duo held their nerve in two tie-breaks to defeat Jabar Al Mutawan and Mossa Alharrasi 7-6, 7-6, sealing the tie 2-1 for the hosts.
Sri Lanka’s ability to recover from the opening singles defeat highlighted the team’s resilience as Wijemanne’s comeback victory and the doubles pair’s clutch performance ensured a successful start to their campaign. The hosts will now look to build on the opening-day victory as they continue their quest for promotion in the Asia/Oceania Group IV competition.
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