Dramatic run chase by SL – 164 in 18.1 The imposing target of 164 set by South Africans in the final T20I was not sufficient for them to clinch a series whitewash as Sri Lankans powered their way to an easy win in the end with 11 balls to spare. Jayawardena-Dilshan opening stand of 67 in just 35 balls and the final 14 balls-25 outburst by Thisara Perera made the target of 164 easy in the end and earned a consolation win for Sri Lanka at last depriving the dream of South Africans to end the series with a complete whitewash. In this tour both series ended in equal passion giving only one victory to the losers; South Africa lost 1-4 in the ODI series and SL lost 1-2 in the T20I series. However, Sri Lanka being the top ranked T20I team in the world failed in what they are capable of against the top ranked test team. South Africa winning the toss for the third time in succession in this series showed their intention very clear right from the start of their innings though they lost their first wicket from the very first ball of the innings when Davids was LBW to Kulasekara. Q de Kock took a start in all three matches but failed when spin was introduced; this time against Ajantha Mendis. South Africans maintained a healthy run rate right throughout their innings thanks to the 112 run third wicket stand between Du Plessis who made 83 ball-85 with three sixes and Duminy run-a-ball 51 with two sixes that ended only in the twentieth over changed the full game plan of the Sri Lankans. Jayawardena and Dilshan, the most successful opening pair next to Jayasuriya-Kaluviharana combination in the over limited version of the game opened the innings as they had to maintain a run rate of 8.16 right from the start of their innings. The way they undertook the challenge was exceedingly magnificent; 67 in just 5.5 overs at an average of over 12 runs per over. Both batsmen were batting in a glorious passion and there was no stopping to their run flow before Mahela was finally caught in the deep. It was a disappointing start for the international career of Kusal Perera who failed once again for just one run. Since the departure of Mahela the pressure started to build up as both Chandimal and Mathews could not add the required momentum to their innings until Thisara Perera joined Dilshan in the run chase. At the beginning of the 18 over Sri Lanka needed 27 runs from 18 balls and Thisara Perera collected 21 runs from the 18 over bowled by Parnell leaving 6 runs for Dilshan to score in the next over which Dilshan accepted with both hands by hitting a six off the very first ball of the next over to finish the match in style. The unbeaten 74 with 9 fours and 2 sixes of player of the match Dilshan took the match away from the South Africans. Match details Date - 06.08.2013 Venue - Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium Toss - South Africa Result - Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets with 11 balls to spare Player of the match - TM Dilshan Series details 3 match T20I series Result - South Africa 2-1 Player of the series - JP Duminy Chief scores South Africa 163 for3 in 50 overs at 8.15 (Du Plessis 85, JP Duminy 51, Kulasekara, Lakmal & Mendis 1 qkt. Each, Sachithra was the most economical bowler who conceded only 20 runs from his 4 overs) Sri Lanka 164 for 4 in 18.1 overs at 9.02 (Dilshan 74, Mahela 33, Thisara Perera 25, D Wiese 2-24) Series statistics Most runs - JP Duminy 132- Strike rate 121 (SA) Sangakkara 98 – strike rate 111 (SL) Most wickets - Sachithra Senannayaka 5 wickets – ave 10.4 – economy 4.33 Best bowling - Senanayaka 3-14 High team total - 164 for 4 by Sri Lanka Series averages - Duminy 66 & Sangakkara 98
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 03:07:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015