CT 2017, Match 3, SL v SA – South Africa Player Ratings

The woes for the Sri Lankan team do not seem to end. Their poor run of form continued as they lost their first match of the Champions Trophy against South Africa. At one stage in the run chase, Sri Lanka looked in firm command of the game with their openers adding runs at a brisk pace. They had 94 runs on the board when going into the 12th over. However, what followed was an absolute collapse.

No batsman barring Kusal Perera showed resistance with the bat. Perera remained unbeaten on 44 as the team bundled out for 203 in 41.3 overs. Earlier, Niroshan Dickwella (41) and Upul Tharanga (57) had set the tone for Sri Lanka in the game. Talking about the South African innings, they were asked to bat first after Sri Lanka had won the toss.

Hashim Amla batted for the major part of the innings to steer the team to a big score. After the departure of Quinton de Kock in the 13th over, Amla added 155 runs with Faf du Plessis for the second wicket. Du Plessis hit a brisk 75 and Amla played the anchor role with 103 off 115 balls to his name. Towards the end, a quickfire 38 off 20 balls from JP Duminy helped South Africa post 299/6 in their 50 overs. Sri Lanka lost by 96 runs.

Here are the South Africa Player Ratings from the SL v SA encounter:

Hashim Amla – 9.5/10

South African opener Hashim Amla was at his peak best when he took the field on the day. He was long due for a big score coming into the tournament. He chose the ideal platform to get back to sublime form. He put on a marathon stand with Faf du Plessis for the second wicket. Amla played the anchor role in the innings. He scored a brilliant 103 off 115 deliveries on the day. His knock was studded with 5 fours and 2 sixes.

Quinton de Kock – 5/10

Young wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock has been one of the most promising young batsmen in the world cricket. He arrived in the tournament riding on a big reputation. He got off to a decent start on the day against Sri Lanka. After having added 44 runs for the opening wicket, Quinton de Kock perished in the 13th over. His stay at the crease was not the most comfortable one as he struggled for 42 deliveries for his 23 runs with 2 fours.

Faf du Plessis – 8/10

Veteran batsman Faf du Plessis came to the fore when his team demanded a strong performance. Faf came into bat in the 13th over after the dismissal of Quinton de Kock. He added 155 runs for the second wicket with Hashim Amla. The partnership set the tone for a big total for the Proteas in the match. Faf ended up with a scored of 75 to his name in just 70 balls on the day. He hit 6 fours during his stay at the crease.

AB de Villiers – 7/10

AB de Villiers failed to click with the bat in the match. He was expected to come up with a big score in the big match on the day. A lot was expected from him on the day. But the Protea skipper largely failed to contribute with the bat. He departed after scoring only 4 on the day. But the skipper more than just covered up for it with his electrifying fielding effort on the day. He plucked one out of nowhere to send Kusal Mendis back to the den. Soon, another sensational effort saw him run out Dinesh Chandimal.

David Miller – 3/10

Hard-hitting middle-order batsman David Miller could not do much on the day. He came into bat towards the fag end of the innings. The team expected him to take the opposition bowlers to the cleaners right from the word go. However, the southpaw did not do much and had only 18 runs to his name in 22 balls. Later in the game, he took a catch in the field for which he deserves some credit.

JP Duminy – 7.5/10

Veteran batsman JP Duminy has been struggling to get in the kind of form he is renowned to be in. Duminy had failed to get a big score in the matches that preceded the Champions Trophy. Hence, he had a lot coming onto him in this game. Duminy batted with a strike rate of 190 in the match and showed how threatening he can be. He plundered an unbeaten 38 off 20 balls with 5 fours and a six to help South Africa finish with 299 on the board.

Chris Morris – 7/10

Chris Morris has been the preferred all-rounder for team South Africa in the tournament. He delivered the goods with both bat and the ball on the day. He batted in the end overs and had 20 runs to his credit with three fours to his name. Later in the game, Morris returned with 2 wickets to his name as he gave away 32 runs in the 7 overs that he bowled. Morris dismissed Kusal Mendis to take his first wicket on the day. Later, he got the key wicket of Seekkuge Prasanna.

Wayne Parnell – 4/10

Left arm pacer Wayne Parnell was the only frontline bowler of the South Africa team who did not take a wicket. He bowled his complete quota of 10 overs on the day. Parnell shared the new ball with Kagiso Rabada with little success. He was taken away for 54 runs in his spell. During his bowling, he did not look like a very tough candidate to negotiate for the Sri Lankan batsmen.

Kagiso Rabada – 4.5/10

Kagiso Rabada has seen a meteoric rise in his stature in the recent times. He rose to the number one rank in the ODI bowler’s rankings after his heroics in the last ODI against England recently. Coming into this game against Sri Lanka, Rabada failed to live up to the expectations. He bowled with the new ball on the day and returned with figures of 1/46. He failed to provide the breakthrough with the new ball. His solitary wicket was that of Lasith Malinga.

Morne Morkel – 6/10

Morne Morkel is a seasoned campaigner for the South African outfit now. However, he has been struggling to cement his spot in the playing eleven in the South Africa side. He was drafted in the lineup on the day. Morkel bowled only 6 overs on the day. However, he could not prove to be containing the run flow. He returned with figures of 1/31 on the day.

Imran Tahir – 9/10

If Hashim Amla was the star of the show with the bat, it was Imran Tahir who took all the limelight with the ball. Tahir bowled a sensational spell that ran through the Sir Lanka batting lineup. Tahir dismissed the set batsman Upul Tharanga on 57 to end the Lankan resistance in the match. Earlier, he had dismissed Chamara Kapugedara for a golden duck. He also dismissed Asela Gunaratne and Nuwan Pradeep to complete his four-wicket haul on the day. He also inflicted a run out to send Suranga Lakmal packing. He finished with figures of 4/27 in his 8.3 overs.