Sri Lanka's batsmen found fluency for the first time in the Twenty20
series, as the hosts rode a furious start and a fast finish to a
consolatory six-wicket win in Hambantota. Tillakaratne Dilshan's
unbeaten 51-ball 74 was both their anchor and primary propeller, with
Mahela Jayawardene and Thisara Perera contributing with cameos to help
haul in a stiff target of 164, with 11 balls to spare.
Jayawardene and Dilshan have repeatedly been Sri Lanka's most dynamic
opening combination, and South Africa's large total was sufficient
reason to reunite the two batsmen, displacing Kusal Perera to No. 3.
Jayawardene's breezy brilliance matched Dilshan's daring in the
Powerplay, and when they were separated in the sixth over, Sri Lanka
were traveling at more than 11 runs an over, and had built a foundation
from which their target seemed straightforward. Yet, they stumbled in
the middle once more, and before Thisara launched a Wayne Parnell over
for 21, their fate had become uncertain.
Dilshan's first scoring shot foreshadowed the opener's blitz, as he
walloped a Lonwabo Tsotsobe slower ball over square leg for six in the
first over, before playing the Dilscoop to successive balls, to make 14
in the first over. Jayawardene's salvo was more stylish, but no less
explosive. Morne Morkel was not spared either as fours came of his first
three deliveries - all from Jayawardene's unhurried blade. Jayawardene
fell to Parnell in the sixth over, but despite his disappointment, Sri
Lanka required just under seven an over with nine wickets left, thanks
to his 16-ball 33.
Dilshan made do with stuttering partners in the middle overs; Kusal
Perera's innings was his briefest in a poor series for him, Dinesh
Chandimal fell trying to accelerate after having progressed slowly to 14
and Angelo Mathews was dismissed for 14, after having promised a solid
contribution. Although Thisara scored at only a run-a-ball in his first
five deliveries, his onslaught in the 18th over secured the match for
Sri Lanka. Parnell attempted to bowl full and wide, but Thisara reached
out and struck three fours and a six in the arc between extra cover and
long-on. At the beginning of that over, Sri Lanka needed 27 off 18, and
by the end, only one blow was needed to complete the win. Dilshan
provided it in style, when he swept Morkel high over square leg, first
ball of the next over.
Though Hambantota's surface has had a reputation for favouring fast
bowlers, the spinners from both teams bowled best in the match, with
only David Wiese maintaining an acceptable run rate from among the seam
bowlers. Tsotsobe conceded 49 from his four, in addition to shelling a
simple catch and committing two misfields, and Morkel and Parnell didn't
do much better, going for over 10 and 12 an over respectively.
Earlier, a 112-run third-wicket stand between du Plessis and JP Duminy
had propelled South Africa to a commanding score, after the pair had
exploited poor bowling from Sri Lanka's pacers, who were without their
injured spearhead Lasith Malinga. Their partnership, which helped South
Africa recover from a first-ball wicket, was the highest against Sri Lanka for any wicket.
Du Plessis' 85 off 65 was his highest score in the T20 series, but he
was by some distance the less convincing of the two batsman. Ajantha
Mendis had been among his chief tormentors in the ODI series, and almost
had him out lbw for 24, but the umpire rightly turned down the appeal
as du Plessis had got glove to the ball before it struck him on the
thigh. Then on 56, Lahiru Thirimanne failed to grasp a simple chance at
deep midwicket - also off Mendis - and du Plessis did not fall until the
final over of the innings.
Duminy's progress was both smoother and quicker than his captain's, as
he embellished his status as South Africa's best batsman of the tour
with his second fifty of the series. Placement and hard running gave
energy to his innings, and the big shots were largely reserved for the
balls that deserved punishment. An overpitched slower ball from Suranga
Lakmal was hoisted over the straight boundary in the 15th over, before
Nuwan Kulasekara was launched slightly squarer when he delivered a
knee-length full toss.
But their record, and that of the Hambantota stadium - which has allowed
only one chasing victory in six previous matches - did not help South
Africa, and having avoided a whitewash, Sri Lanka will hold on to their
top ranking in T20s.
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