Hosts Sri Lanka held their nerve to beat South Africa in the first ODI of the 3-match series on Thursday (Sept 02). It was an all-around performance from the hosts as they scored runs with the bat opting to bat first and spinners did well in the death overs to trim the run flow during South Africa's run-chase!
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| Sri Lankan ODI team (Image Credits: Cricket Times) |
Sri Lanka - 300/9 in 50 overs
Sri Lanka were off to a kick start with a 57-run stand for the first wicket between Minod Bhanuka (27 runs) and Avishka Fernando. Even though Lankans lost their 2nd wicket cheaply adding just one more run to the total, Avishka occupied the crease stitching partnerships one after another! He shared a 79-run stand for the third wicket with Dananjaya de Silva (44) and a 97-run stand for the fourth wicket with Charith Asalanka.
Avishka departed in the 43rd over having got to his third century in this format of the game - 118 runs off 115 deliveries with 10 fours and 2 sixes. Though Avishka started off slowly, he scored 61 runs from the last 34 balls he faced. Asalanka too got to his half-century (72 off 62 balls; 6 fours, 1 six) as he was dismissed in the 50th over and Sri Lanka finished with 300/9 on the board in 50 overs.
South Africa's main pacers Kagiso Rabada (2/66 in 9 overs) and Anrich Nortje (0/69 in 10 overs) struggled in this match with the ball. Though Rabada picked up 2 wickets, he was very expensive with the ball by his standards. Keshav Maharaj with 2 wickets, Aiden Markram and Tabraiz Shamsi with a wicket each are the other wicket-takers for South Africa in this innings.
South Africa - 286/6 in 50 overs
Aiden Markram shouldered the burden of scoring runs in this high run-chase as he was part of a 49-run stand for the first wicket with Janneman Malan (23 runs). He then stitched an unbeaten 106*-run stand for the 2nd wicket with captain Temba Bavuma. The stand was separated with Bavuma walking off on 38 as retired hurt. Markram missed his century and departed with 96 runs against his name, his first score in the 90s in ODIs.
Rassie van der Dussen then marched on with a half-century (59 off 59). However, his fifty and his 51-run stand for the fifth wicket with Heinrich Klassen all went in vain as South Africa fell short of the target by 14 runs in the end! With 91 runs from the last 10 overs, Lankans operated 7 overs with spinners who bowled superbly and the pacers bowled slower deliveries to not let South Africans score easy boundaries!
Akila Dananjaya bagged 2 wickets while Praveen Jayawickrama, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne accounted for a wicket each.
Player of the Match:
Avishka Fernando has been adjudged as the Player of the Match for his century at the top and scoring runs in partnerships. He scored 118 runs off 115 balls which was his 3rd century in this format of the game. Meanwhile, Aiden Markram (96 runs with the bat and a wicket) would have won this award had South Africa managed to win this game.
What's next?
With this 14-run victory in the first ODI, Sri Lanka are currently leading the 3-match series by 1-0. The second ODI of the series will be played at the same venue, Colombo, on Saturday (Sept 04).
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka - 300/9 in 50 overs (Avishka Fernando - 118, Keshav Maharaj - 2/30) defeated South Africa - 286/6 in 50 overs (Aiden Markram - 96, Akila Dananjaya - 2/65) by a margin of 14 runs
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