South Africa thrash Lanka in rain-hit game

By Dilanka MANNAKKARA in Sooriyeweva

The super strong South African team thrashed the local favourites Sri Lanka by 33 runs in a shortened game of 7 overs. It was a downright pathetic performance by Sri Lanka and they could only hit four boundaries during their 7 overs. Losing a full Twenty20 game by 33 runs is usually considered as a poor performance and one finds hard to express how to explain a team losing a game of 7 overs by a massive margin of 33 runs.

It was a frustrating two and a half hour drizzle for the 34,000 strong cricket fanatics at Sooriyeweva Stadium but the intensity didn’t jolt down as play started finally as the raining stopped. The match was reduced to a 7 over game with just 2 overs of Powerplay.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardena who won the toss amidst a huge roar from the crowd put on the Porteas to bat.The crowd just went ecstatic when Dilshan Munaweera held on to a brilliant diving catch to send the dangerous Richard Levi back to the pavilion for just 4 runs during the first over bowled by Nuwan Kulasekara. That was probably the only reprieve for Sri Lanka as thereafter it was just South African domination.

Sri Lanka’s trump card Lasith Malinga was disappointing,bowling all over the place, not hitting his usual toe crushers and leaked 27 runs in his 2 overs. Hashim Amla who looked in supreme touch in his short stay hit three boundaries in his knock of 16 off 9 balls.

However it was the brilliant AB De Villiers who went on a rampage making batting look so easy and turning even the good balls in to runs. AB hit a lovely reverse sweep of Rangana Herath for four and two mighty sixes again of Herath and Malinga. The Porteas with a combination of elegant stroke play and power hitting ended their 7 overs with 78 runs for the loss of 4 wickets.

The Lankans got off to the worst start possible with the run out of their ace batsman Tilakarathne Dilshan who didn’t respond immediately to Mahela’s call and had to return to the pavilion without facing a single ball. Thereafter it was curtains for the Lankans as none of the batsmen failed to muster any impact or at least hit some shots much to the crowds dismay. The Porteas bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel were on fire from ball one. Steyn was exceptional just giving away 10 runs of his 2 overs thus taking two wickets as well. Dilshan Munaweera had to handle the best pace attack in the world and could not do anything much against the red hot fast bowling. Sri Lanka in a strange move didn’t send in their power hitter in Thisara Perera early instead went in with the more conservative option of sending in Kumar Sangakkara. There was a doubt as to why Angelo Mathews didn’t bat and one hopes he is not injured.

The Lankan batsmen’s shots didn’t have enough power or timing in them to go to the boundary ropes and the edges and the miss hits brought them a few consolation runs.

		SCOREBOARD

SOUTH AFRICA
R. Levi c Munaweera b Kulasekara		04
Hashim Amla st Sangakkara b Herath		16
Faf du Plessis c J. Mendis b Perera		13
AB de Villiers c J. Mendis b Malinga		30
JP Duminy not out				12
A. Morkel not out				00
Extras (lb1, w2)				03
Total (for four wickets, seven overs)		78

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Levi), 2-27 (Amla), 3-65 (de Villiers)
		 4-68 (du Plessis)
Bowling: Kulasekara 1-0-9-1
	 Malinga 2-0-27-1 (w2)
	 Herath 2-0-21-1
	 Mathews 1-0-8-0
	 Perera 1-0-12-1

SRI LANKA
M. Jayawardene c Behardien b Steyn		04
T. Dilshan run out				00
D. Munaweera c Behardien b A Morkel		13
K. Sangakkara c de Villiers b Kallis		13
T. Perera c Duminy b Steyn			01
J. Mendis not out				07
L. Thirimanne not out				05
Extras (lb1, w2)				03
Total: (for five wickets, seven overs)		46

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Dilshan), 2-8 (Jayawardene)
		 3-30 (Sangakkara), 4-32 (Perera)
		 5-40 (Munaweera)
Bowling: M Morkel 2-0-9-0
	 Steyn 2-0-10-0 (w1)
	 Botha 1-0-9-0
	 Kallis 1-0-9-1
	 A Morkel 1-0-8-1