SA v SL, 3rd ODI Review: South Africa seal series with a one sided victory

In what was a must-win game for the Sri Lankans, they threw it away inspite of a splendid start. In what was a one sided victory for the home team, the Proteas sealed the series 3-0 at Johannesburg with two more matches to go.

The game still didn’t run short of any entertainment on the field. Earlier, during the Sri Lankan innings, the match was delayed for more than an hour, thanks to a swarm of bees taking over the stadium.

Winning the toss, AB de Villiers elected to field first. The visitors began really well with opener Niroshan Dickwella smashing a vibrant 74 runs. However, the middle order fared poorly as Sri Lanka kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

In no time, they were bundled for a paltry 163 runs not lasting even  40 overs. Pacer Dwaine Pretorius bowled an outstanding spell with figures of 3/19 in 7 overs. Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir and Phehlukwayo also managed to take a couple of wickets each.

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It was always going to be an easy chase for the Proteas. While Quinton De Kock fell early, Hashim Amla and Du Plessis took their time to build momentum. However, they couldn’t convert their starts into something noticeable. While Faf  was caught by De Silva, Hashim Amla ran himself out.

In the end, AB De Villiers crafted an almost run a ball half century. JP Duminy supported him well with an elegant 28 not out as South Africa achieved a comfortable victory by 7 wickets with 18 overs to spare. The Sri Lankan bowlers failed to put any kind of pressure on the batsmen.

The South Africans were much at ease in all the departments. Though the pitch was on the slower side, Sri Lanka were at least 100 runs short of a good total on this ground. Dwaine Pretorius was rewarded the man of the match award for his splendid bowling. Both teams now head to Cape Town for the next game.

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While Sri Lanka would hope to win the last two games and go back home with some pride, there’s no doubt that the Proteas would be further looking towards a whitewash.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka – 163/10 (39.2) Niroshan Dickwella – 74(80) , Dwaine Pretorius – 3/19

South Africa – 164/3 (32) AB de Villiers – 60* , Lahiru Madushanka – 1/15

Man of the match – Dwaine Pretorius (3/19)