Sri Lanka Vs South Africa 2018: 1st ODI, Dambulla - Match Report

After the debacle in Test series, South Africa finally draws their first blood during the ongoing Island nation tour at Dambulla. The cracking spell from Kagiso Rabada and then Tabraiz Shamsi respectively handed the Proteas their maiden victory of the tour.

Kusal Perera strokes 81 but Rabada, Shamsi take the honours:

Initially, it was Sri Lanka, who won the toss and asked the visitors to roll their arms first. Accepting the challenge, South African bowlers wrecked havoc with the new ball.

Niroshan Dickwella walked back in the first over of the innings while Kusal Mendis edged Rabada to witness Quinton de Kock doing the rest of the work. The both were followed by Upul Tharanga, who tried to steal the run from Jean-Paul Duminy.

Sri Lanka was furtherly collapsed with the wickets of Angelo Mathews and Shehan Jayasuriya when the scorecard read 36 for five. However, it was Perera duo who bailed Sri Lanka from further hiccups.

The southpaws, Kusal Perera and Thisara Perera knocked the ball nonchalantly to keep Proteas chasing the leather. They both played at a strike rate of more than 100 to bail Sri Lanka out from sorts.

However, it was Shamsi, who returned to his second spell and bundled out the rest of the Islanders. The late blitz and the handful of extras saw Lankans put 193 on the board.

JP Duminy’s gutsy knock seals it for South Africa:

Despite having the low total on the board, Sri Lankan bowler made it hard for the visitors. Akila Dananjaya’s mystery once again came to Sri Lankan aid who rattled Hashim Amla and Aiden Markram early in the innings.

However, it was Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis, who paired up to settle the ship. They both stitched 87-run partnership before losing their wickets on identical individual scores of 47.

The sudden fall of wickets saw South Africa in a soup but the gutsy stroke-filled knock by Duminy avoided an embarrassing loss to Proteas. David Miller was the other batsman who failed to stay at the crease.

Akila Dananjaya bowled a fine spell by picking three wickets. Lakshan Sandakan has been the run leaker for the hosts who gave 64 runs of his seven overs in a low-scoring game.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka – Kusal Perera 81, Thisara Perera – 49; Rabada 4/41, Shamsi 4/34

South Africa – JP Duminy 53*, Faf du Plessis 47; Akila Dananjaya 3/50

Match Result – At Dambulla, South Africa won by 5 wickets with 19 overs to spare against Sri Lanka.