SL vs SA 2021: Sri Lanka defend 203 in the 3rd ODI

Sri Lanka wins the 3-match ODI series against South Africa courtesy of a resounding victory in the third and final ODI of the series at Colombo on Tuesday (Sept 07). Hosts won the first and third matches of this 3-match series while South Africa won the second ODI! Incidentally, the teams batting first have won in all these three games!

Sri Lankan celebrating the ODI series victory (Image Credits: Sri Lanka Cricket)

Chasing just 204 for a series victory, South Africa fumbled high time as they lost wickets in regular intervals and were bowled out for just 125 runs in 30 overs. None of their batters got into the 30s with wicket-keeper Heinrich Klassen (22 off 30) being their top-scorer! The visitors failed to stitch a big partnership as the Sri Lankan spinners spun a web around them!

Sri Lankan debutant Maheesh Theekshana picked up 4 wickets in his 10 overs conceding just 37 runs! These are also the best bowling figures for a Sri Lankan spinner on debut in ODIs and fifth overall for Sri Lanka. Hasaranga and Chameera with 2 wickets each and Asalanka and Jayawickrama with a wicket each are the other wicket-takers for the hosts in this innings.

Earlier in the match, Sri Lanka posted 203/9 in 50 overs having opted to bat first. Charith Asalanka once again top-scored for them with 47 runs! Dananjaya de Silva (31 off 44) and pacer Dushmantha Chameera (29 off 39) were the others to have a significant contribution with the bat for the hosts in this match!

Sri Lanka registered a massive victory in this 3rd ODI winning it by 78 runs. With this victory, they have won the 3-match ODI series by 2-1. Dushmantha Chameera who contributed both with the bat and the ball has been adjudged as the Player of the Match. With 196 runs in 3 games, Charith Asalanka was the leading run-scorer in this series and was also rightly adjudged as the Player of the Series!

What's next?

Sri Lanka have completely outfoxed South Africa in the 3-match ODI series winning it by 2-1. Both teams will be competing in a 3-match T20I series which starts from Friday (Sept 10). Like the ODI series, all the 3 T20Is will also be played at the Colombo (RPS) stadium.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka - 203/9 in 50 overs (Charith Asalanka - 47, Keshav Maharaj - 3/38) defeated South Africa - 125 all out in 30 overs (Heinrich Klassen - 22, Maheesh Theeksana - 4/37) by a margin of 78 runs!