体坛英语新闻：Sri Lanka lose to South Africa in T20 World Cup opener

COLOMBO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Africa beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the opening game of the women's T20 World Cup, which kicked off on Wednesday.

Put into bat by South Africa who won the toss Sri Lanka managed to scrape together only 79 runs before being bowled out.

Dilani Manodara was the top scorer with 24 runs from 35 balls. Five run outs was the other main feature of the innings.

In response, South Africa lost only four wickets to reach their target with player-of-the-match Trisha Chetty top scoring with a fluent 33 off 40 balls.

The match was played in the southern city of Galle.

Eight women's teams will be competing in the tournament and they have been split into two groups.

Group A includes defending champion Australia, 2009 winner England, and traditional rivals India and Pakistan, who go head to head a day after the equivalent men's Super-Eight stage fixture on October 1.

Group B comprises hosts Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa, and the West Indies, the team that won the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier 2011 in Dhaka last year.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals, which will be played on the same day and at the same venue as the men's semifinals in Colombo on 4 and 5 October, with the final to be played ahead of the men's final in Colombo on 7 October.

The T20 World Cup is the biggest sporting extravaganza in Sri Lanka for 2012.