Nortje breaks records to bury Sri Lanka

Never has a South African bowler returned such impressive figures at an ICC Men's T20 World Cup as Anrich Nortje did in New York on Monday.

Nortje's final figures against Sri Lanka in Nassau County were quite extraordinary:

Four wickets for just seven runs in four overs.

Those returns of 4-7 are the best figures ever recorded by a South African bowler at an ICC Men's T20 World Cup, eclipsing Nortje's previous best of 4/10 against Bangladesh in Sydney in 2022.

Seven runs is also the fewest ever conceded by a South African man in a full allocation of four overs in a T20I.

And it is the fewest runs conceded across four overs by any bowler from any nation in the history of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

And Nortje's four-wicket haul, along with the efforts of the rest of the South African bowling attack, helped limit Sri Lanka to their lowest-ever score in a men's T20 International, with their 77 all out proving to be five fewer than their previous lowest of 82 against India in 2016.

The story of Nortje's sublime spell

The Sri Lanka innings was already in trouble at 30/1 after seven overs when Nortje was introduced into the attack, and the right-arm pacer's arrival only increased the pressure on a struggling Lankan batting lineup.

Nortje struck with his fifth delivery, getting Kamindu Mendis (11) caught in the deep.

And by the time he had Kusal Mendis (19) caught off his twelfth delivery it was South Africa who were in complete control of the match, with the score at 40/5 at the midway point of the innings.

Charith Asalanka was next to fall to the Protean pacer, as Nortje bowled three on the spin, taking a wicket in each over.

And he returned to provide the hammer blow, hurrying the last Sri Lankan batter of note and getting Angelo Mathews (16) caught at fine leg.

"There were probably a few balls that I wanted a little bit differently, they weren't 100% executed, but yeah, very happy to get the results," Nortje said after the match.

"I think the biggest thing is just to get the results for the team, it's not about personal performances. To get a career-best is nice, but it doesn't really matter at the end of the day unless the team is winning. So, I'm very happy for the team as well. I think every bowler bowled really well.

"It might get harder in the next few weeks or it might get a little bit easier and then we as bowlers have to adapt again," Nortje added.

"So yeah, very satisfied, very happy for today and sort of just clean the thoughts now, clear the thoughts and go on, get ready for the next one.

"We just need to stick to our processes and keep on working hard for the next week or two and hopefully get to the playoffs and take it from there."