South Africa ease into ODI series win against Sri Lanka as they beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets and take an unassailable 3-0 lead. The hosts had a pretty one-sided affair against the Lankans as they chased down a lowly target of 164 with 7 wickets in hand and 18 overs to spare. The Proteas were able to avenge their 1-2 loss in T20I series against the tourists.
Earlier Sri Lanka had a promising start after they lost the toss. The openers Niroshan Dickwella and Upul Tharanga shared a decent opening stand of 60 to give a decent start to the innings. Apart from Dickwella, no other Sri Lankan batsman was able to hold ground as they struggled to score runs or keep their wicket intact.
Dickwella ran out of partners constantly. Meanwhile, he completed his second ODI half-century. Hell broke lose when Dickwella got in 33rd over with scoreboard reading 149-6. Soon, the Sri Lankan lower order laid their weapons as the team bundled out for 163. The batting collapse saw 5 wickets go down under a span of 14 runs. Dickwella remained top-scorer for the Lankans as he scored 74 from 80 balls which included 7 fours.
Some fan love after the game. #ProteaFire #PinkODI pic.twitter.com/hwyClrZADW
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) February 4, 2017
Youngster Dwaine Pretorius picked up 3 wickets whereas Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada and leg-spinner Imran Tahir picked up a couple of wickets each. Morris too picked up a wicket. Pretorius helped in wrapping up the innings as he sent two Lankan lower order batsmen back to the pavilion for a duck. He was also adjudged as Man of the match for his splendid performance.
A rather one-sided affair had a bizarre moment when bees entered bee swarm entered the ground. The incident first happened in 25th over during Morris’ bowling. At one point both the batsmen, South African team and the umpires were lying on the ground on their chests. Although, wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock was seen doing push-ups. AB de Villiers & Co. left the ground afterward as another swarm of bees interrupted play in 27th over.
Congratulations Man of the Match, @dwainep__29 #ProteaFire #PinkODI pic.twitter.com/7NXlTfJYm6
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) February 4, 2017
The home team despite losing early wicket of De Kock did not have much problem in chasing down the target. Wickets of Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis did not have much impact on the outcome as skipper De Villiers scored a half-century, sharing a 72-run stand with Jean-Paul Duminy.
7-wicket victory! Well done boys! #ProteaFire #PinkODI pic.twitter.com/J6guUG2n0t
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) February 4, 2017
The match also saw South African side donning pink uniforms in support of World Cancer Day on February 4. The pink uniform has proved lucky for De Villiers. He has averaged an impressive 97.50 while donning the pink colours. His fastest 150 which is also a world-record also came while playing in this uniform only.
AB brings up his 49th ODI 50! #ProteaFire #PinkODI pic.twitter.com/fMwXO03sue
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) February 4, 2017
In post-match conference, the skipper revealed that after seeing the Sri Lankan collapse, he wished that Proteas had batted first and posted a big total on the board.
One of our favorite parts about cricket. #PinkODI #ProteaFire #Faf100 pic.twitter.com/Rw0KOpmrdW
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) February 4, 2017
The ‘Pink ODI’ saw a huge turnout and spectators could be seen wearing pink clothing, showing their support to Cancer awareness.
