With a captain’s knock of 96:
De Villiers leads the way as South Africa make 299/7
Skipper AB de Villiers hit 96 and his predecessor Graeme Smith
regained his limited overs form with a brisk 68 as South Africa totalled
299-7 against Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day international.
Number three De Villiers hit eight fours and three sixes off 76 balls
before being bowled by Thisara Perera with the ball slamming into middle
stump after an attempt to steer it down leg side backfired.
Smith managed only six, 28 and two in the first three matches of the
series, triggering a media and public outcry that led to De Villiers
coming out in support of the Test captain.
He struck seven fours and a six off 69 balls at sun-drenched De Beers
Diamond Oval in the northern Cape city before being caught by Sri Lankan
captain Tillakaratne Dilshan off the bowling of Lasith Malinga.
His dismissal 23.5 overs into the innings was soft with the bat
turning in his hand as he attempted a leg-side shot off a delivery that
was short of a length.
De Villiers won the toss and opted to bat as South Africa sought a
4-0 lead over the visitors ahead of the final match in Johannesburg, and
they put 84 runs on the board before Alviro Petersen (37) was first to
fall.
Colin Ingram was trapped leg before just four balls after the
departure of Smith, but Sri Lankan hopes of wresting the initiative were
dashed as De Villiers and JP Duminy (36) added 70 fourth-wicket runs.
Sri Lanka, who came to South Africa out of form and lost a Test series
2-1 before the ODI matches. AFP
SOUTH AFRICA
A. Petersen c Tharanga b Herath 37
G. Smith c Dilshan b Malinga 68
A.B. de Villiers b Perera 96
C. Ingram lbw b Kulasekara 1
J.P. Duminy c Sangakkara b Perera 36
F. du Plessis c Sangakkara b Herath 5
W. Parnell run out (Tharanga) 21
R. Peterson not out 23
V. Philander not out 2
Extras (b4, w6) 10
TOTAL (7 wkts, 50 overs) 299
Fall of wickets: 1-84 (Petersen), 2-171 (Smith), 3-172 (Ingram), 4-242 (Duminy), 5-250 (De Villiers),
6-252 (Du Plessis), 7-289 (Parnell).
Bowling: Malinga 10-0-57-1 (4w), Kulasekara 8-0-40-1, Senanayake 10-1-53-0, Perera 4-0-34-2 (2w),
Mathews 1-0-6-0, Dilshan 8-0-60-0, Herath 9-0-45-2. |