Ambati Rayudu alleges Sri Lanka of fixing the match vs South Africa before the play started

Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Ambati Rayudu has yet again made a bizarre statement, as he poked fun at Sri Lanka after their embarrassing loss to South Africa in their opening game at the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on June 3 in New York.

The drop-in pitches for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 are already under fire, and the latest match of the tournament turned out to be a low-scoring affair, where both Sri Lanka and South Africa did not even score 170 runs in total, with the sub-continent team being bowled out for 77 in 19.1 overs.

Ambati Rayudu takes a dig at Sri Lanka after they lost the T20 World Cup 2024 game to South Africa

South African pacer Anrich Nortje turned out to be the game-changer for his team by wreaking havoc on Sri Lanka’s batting line-up and taking four wickets at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Kusal Mendis (19) was the highest run scorer for Sri Lanka against South Africa.

On the other hand, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj took two scalps each. Meanwhile, South Africa chased down the target with 22 balls to spare and won the game by six wickets to kick off their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign on a winning note on Monday.

After the match, Ambati Rayudu openly blamed Sri Lankan skipper Wanindu Hasaranga for his team’s defeat against the Proteas side. The commentator stated that Hasaranga gifted the game to South Africa by opting to bat first in New York after winning the toss, as the pitch was fresh with no hint about its nature.

Taking a dig at Sri Lanka, Rayudu opined that Hasaranga took that decision because of India, but he forgot that the islanders are not Indians. He mentioned that the toss was the turning point of the match, and the Sri Lankan team had already lost the game even before the start of the proceedings.

It was a gift from Sri Lanka to South Africa: Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu said on Star Sports: “I think the turning point of the game happened before the game even started. I think it was the toss. After winning the toss, when you bat first on a wicket like that, you do not know what score to set up. I feel that is the biggest edge that South Africa had. I mean, it was a gift from Sri Lanka to South Africa.

In terms of South African bowling, I felt Nortje did most of the damage, especially on a pitch like this which was slightly up and down. I felt Nortje was that X-Factor. Sri Lanka batted first after winning the toss because of India. They thought of scoring runs like India did against Bangladesh at the same venue.

Sri Lanka are not India and also South Africa bowlers are not like Bangladesh bowlers. Bangladesh spinners were hit for big hits but the Proteas don’t have that sort of weakness in their bowling unit.”

Notably, Quinton de Kock was the top scorer for South Africa with 20 runs off 27 balls, while Hasaranga was the standout performer for Sri Lanka, finishing with figures of 2/22 in 3.2 overs in New York.