Reeza Hendricks and man of the match Rassie van Dussen’s partnership (116) anchored great innings of 180/3 for South Africa. The Proteas barely raised a sweat as they wrapped up the three-match T20 series with a game too against Sri Lanka with a 16 runs victory on Friday.
And it was left for all-rounder Chris Morris (3 wickets) and pace bowler Dale Steyn (2) to lead the “removal” job as the Proteas won by 16 runs.
Mid-order batsman Isuru Udana put up a fight, smashing eight boundaries and six maximums as he reached his half-century.But on a wing and a prayer, the Sri Lanka highest top run scorer (84) could have done with some help from his Sri Lanka teammates.
Indian Ocean islanders have been here for far too long. At the rate they are losing matches, they certainly can’t wait to play the last at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday and get on the flight back home.
It was yet another gloomy afternoon for captain Lasith Malinga and his men as their wickets fell cheaply. Winning the toss, he opted to field hoping to restrict the Proteas to a limited score in the hurly-burly T20 action.
But like it has been for Sri Lanka in previous matches, the plan could not yield results as Hendricks strengthened his case for the 2019 ICC World Cup selection with some fine stroke plays.
But the Proteas lost some momentum as his partnership with van der Dussen finally got broken. Skipper JP Duminy came to whack two boundaries and two sixes to give his side some drive towards the end.
It didn’t quite look an insurmountable mountain to climb for the visitors, though you wouldn’t bet your car on them winning.
It didn’t take long for Steyn to strike, the fast bowler sending Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis back to the pavilion quicker than another Eskom power blackout.
Morris claimed two in three balls as the Proteas continued their fine start with Chris Morris and Tabraiz Shamsi picking up two more wickets. On debut, Sinethemba Qeshile took to his first match like fish to water, making two catches.
Source: Daily Sun
