Proteas fall to spirited Lankans

SRI Lanka stunned South Africa to win their T20 match last night by five wickets.

The visitors reached their target with a ball to spare to claim the victory and clinch the series 2-1 in the third and decisive T20 international against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town last night.

South Africa’s challenge was made significantly more difficult when Lungi Ngidi, the series’ leading wicket-taker going into the match, limped off with a bruised hip sustained while diving in the field and having sent down only two of his overs.

And while Niroshan Dickwella and Dhananjaya de Silva were clubbing South Africa’s bowlers to all parts in their third-wicket stand, the visitors seemed locked and loaded for victory.

But the home side stormed back into contention when Tahir had Dickwella caught on the midwicket fence for 68 and De Silva stumped for 19 only four balls apart.

Ten balls later debutant Dane Paterson, 27, who plays his franchise cricket for the Cobras, ran out Kusal Mendis off his own bowling, and Sri Lanka had lost three wickets for 26 runs.

With the Lankans needing five runs Asela Gunaratne topedged Paterson for four and immediately grabbed a souvenir stump in the mistaken belief that he had secured victory.

After apologising to the umpires Gunaratne put Paterson through the covers to secure the win legitimately.

Earlier, AB de Villiers smashed his way back onto the international scene.

De Villiers‚ playing his first match in any format for South Africa since last June because of an elbow injury and subsequent surgery‚ blazed 63 off 44 balls with two fours and three sixes.

His effort was the top score in the home side’s 169/5‚ the fourth-highest total yet scored in the first innings of a T20 international at this ground.

Although that boded well for South Africa’s chances of clinching the series, it proved to be insufficient in the end.

De Villiers came to the crease at the fall of the first wicket in the fifth over and was in command until the 18th‚ when he slashed a low full toss from Nuwan Kulasekara and was caught at backward point.

He shared 71 at 7.88 runs an over with Reeza Hendricks for the second wicket‚ the biggest stand of the innings.

Hendricks’ 41 and a late blast of 32 off 15 balls by Mangaliso Mosehle were the only other highlight of a lacklustre batting effort by the South Africans‚ whose next highest score was Jon-Jon Smuts’ 19.

Mosehle hammered Isuru Udana for three sixes in the last over of the innings‚ which yielded 21 runs.

The only Sri Lankan bowler who conceded fewer than a run a ball was Lakshan Sandakan‚ who took 1/23 from his four overs. — SupersportTMG