Sydney: Spinners Imran Tahir and JP Duminy emerged as the heroes of the first World Cup quarter-final on Wednesday, steering South Africa to an emphatic nine-wicket win against Sri Lanka.
Few expected the famed Sri Lankan batting line-up to crash to spinners — especially when the Proteas boast feared pacemen such as Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel — but these two bowled brilliantly.
Leggie Tahir took 4 for 26, while off-spinner Duminy bagged 3 for 29 thanks to a dramatic hat-trick.
Duminy’s hat-trick was the second of the tournament after England pacer Steven Finn’s effort against Australia in the opening match on February 14. Duminy also became the second South African to take a hat-trick after Charl Langeveldt and it was the tenth World Cup treble.
After being adjudged man of the match, Tahir could not contain his joy, saying: “I’m really pleased with what I’ve been doing for this team. I think the fast bowlers set the standard for us. If they didn’t do well, then obviously it wasn’t going to be easy for us.
“I think as a team we’re working hard and going in the right direction. I think that’s the key for my success, for Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn and JP’s success. I think as a team we’re working hard and going in the right direction.”
Duminy, who removed Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekera and Tharindu Kaushal in succession, was surprised by his hat-trick.
“I don’t think I’ve ever come close to taking a hat-trick before. To my recollection, I’ve never taken wickets consecutively. I knew it was possibly a hat-trick ball, just before I bowled it, so we got a few fielders in and fortunately enough he [Kaushal] played around it. It wasn’t my greatest delivery but it was wicket to wicket, so I was pleased with it.
“It was one of those days when everything clicks. I could feel the hunger. There was a lot of tension in the camp, just because of the hunger. We had a day off yesterday [Tuesday] to ease that. We came in fired up and we wanted early wickets, but those small totals are still challenging.”
Pakistan-born Tahir went on to thank his fans and said: “This is a dream because maybe there is a million people and none have this opportunity I have to play for this team.
“It is just an absolute honour and I think every wicket I take is just for South Africa, not for me, and it gives me such a joy I cannot express it. Thanks for the support from back home and the people here. I’ve been thinking about this game and I’m really glad.
“There are some good and great players [in the South Africa team], just playing with them is a dream come true for me. It’s a great feeling and motivates me every day.”
South Africa skipper AB De Villiers summed up his side’s performance by saying: “We’ve done some amazing things with the bowling before. I wouldn’t say it’s the best, but definitely the most important performance in the most important game to date.
“So I’m very proud of the way the guys stepped up to the plate, the way Dale and Kyle [Abbott] started off and then Morne, who followed with a lot of heat, and then obviously the two spinners. We just worked really well today as a bowling unit and the fielders backed them up exceptionally well.”
