Player of the Match
Player of the Match

6.00 pm That's all we have for you. Do join us for the second ODI when South Africa will plan to wrap up a historic maiden series triumph in his country and Sri Lanka will be priming their claws for a comeback. Its bound to be a cracker and we hope to have your company again on Wednesday. That will be a Day-night affair, mind you. So until then, this is Alagappan Muthu going quiet

Daniel Alexande: "Sri Lanka should appoint Amla as SL vice-captain, that's the only way to stop him scoring "

Hashim Amla is the Man of the Match for his 13th ton in ODI cricket. "Obviously it was a good wicket to bat on, I know we managed to bowl Sri Lanka for 240 but the game went right to the 40th over./ The pitch eased out a little bit, but also the bowlers bowled really well. AB got away in our partnership and allowed me to play my game. It was a little slow, but it stayed the same throughout the game and that's fair. No, I dont think so. Obviously when the Tests start I'll put the thinking cap on, now I'm just concentrating on help AB out in the ODIs"

"Hopefully on our way, Certainly not there yet. Sri Lanka are a very goot team at home," says AB de Villiers. "We fought really well and really proud of our first innings here. I wasn;t too happy with my dismissal. I'm not going to go easy with myself. I thought the guys recovered really well. McLaren and Miller showed what this team was bout in the end. Its always a concern when Sanga walks out and Dilshan also played really well. We have to come out with some answers like we did today. We are very motivated to win our first series here, things have started really well and we'll have to go really hard in the next few games,"

5.55 pm "We had a bad day at the office. South Africans played better cricket and we were rusty," says Angelo Mathews. "After the start we got, the middle order made some poor shots selection and that cost us the game. If we'd held onto our catches, it would have been different. It was a very good wicket and the margin of error was very small. We bowed 45 overs very well. We are definitely under pressure but its pretty simple, we have to pull our socs up and win,"

South Africa had to come from behind a few times in this game. First when they lost a couple of top-order wickets together and AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla strung together a very business-like partnership. And then while bowling, Sri Lanka had got off to a rapid start and Kumar Sangakkara was batting like a dream again. But Imran Tahir, after being smacked around, and Ryan McClaren with some canny change of pace secured a well-fought victory for the visitors

5.40 pm Considering the top order's performance, Sri Lanka would feel very aggrieved with his result. But South Africa have said all along - they've learned their lessons, they have a better side this time and they were looking at Tahir as an attacking option. All of those claims came to pass today as they secured only their third win in 17 ODIs against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka

tAHIR: "5 wickets in 4 overs .. i was expecting that it ll go to 49, 50 .. but just 40.3 SL wts going on ???"

40.3
W
Steyn to Mendis, OUT, this is a mistimed hoick, McLaren gets under a swirler and South Africa take the first game in convincing fashion. Steyn goes short and Mendis backs away to try and smoke it out of the park but has fell way off the mark

BAW Mendis c McLaren b Steyn 0 (11m 7b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

40.2
0
Steyn to Mendis, no run, goes for the yorker, but it is just a little too full and outside off. Mendis sets up for a swipe over cover and is beaten
40.1
0
Steyn to Mendis, no run, shortish and outside off, Malinga backs away to flat bat it down the ground. Mistimed

Steyn takes aim at the last wicket needed for South Africa

END OF OVER:
40 | 6 Runs 1 Wkt | SL: 229/9 (76 runs required from 60 balls, RR: 5.72, RRR: 7.60)

  • Lasith Malinga6 (4b)
  • Ajantha Mendis0 (4b)
  • Imran Tahir7-0-50-3
  • Dale Steyn7-0-38-1
39.6
0
Imran Tahir to Malinga, no run, another wrong 'un, quick and flat, and Malinga seems to have picked it as he pulls to midwicket
39.5
0
Imran Tahir to Malinga, no run, sneaks in a quicker delivery and Malinga, who was down the pitch, manages to skew it to backward point
39.4
6
Imran Tahir to Malinga, SIX, this one is into orbit. Uses his feet and launches this over long-on to bring up the first six of Sri Lanka's innings
39.3
0
Imran Tahir to Malinga, no run, comes down the track which makes Tahir shorten the length of his googly. Malinga bunts it down to the bowler

Some of the crowd are trying to beat the Colombo traffic by leaving early

jitu: "Plz bring tisara next match....... " Malinga is the last man in

39.2
W
Imran Tahir to Senanayake, OUT, how bout that, the stumps are rattled and its the googly again! Senanayake pushed at the ball gingerly, he did not pick it at all and has to walk back

SMSM Senanayake b Imran Tahir 6 (9m 5b 1x4 0x6) SR: 120

39.1
0
Imran Tahir to Senanayake, no run, goes for the googly and this skids onto him and raps him on the pads. He was rooted to the crease while going for a flick, might have drifted down leg which is why the the umpire says no and AB declines to review

Imran Tahir, the man who turned this match around with one little wicket, comes back

END OF OVER:
39 | 1 Run 1 Wkt | SL: 223/8 (82 runs required from 11 overs, RR: 5.71, RRR: 7.45)

  • Ajantha Mendis0 (4b)
  • Sachithra Senanayake6 (3b)
  • Dale Steyn7-0-38-1
  • Ryan McLaren6-0-33-2
38.6
0
Steyn to Mendis, no run, how did that miss the off stump? It was a good length ball and Mendis continues on his merry way backing away and going for the loft over the off side. Misses comprehensively again

neil: "slow over rate won't matter if they bowl them all out, which is looking more and more likely." Exactly what we were discussing here in office

shihan: "@Jan: Sanga had to play a rash shot because what Thirimanne did earlier..DL par score got to Sanga with the fall of Thiri."

38.5
0
Steyn to Mendis, no run, deceives him with a lovely slower ball, too good for Mendis as he looks to launch it down the ground. Doesn't connect
38.4
0
Steyn to Mendis, no run, that's a menacing bouncer to the tailender who manages to duck under it. Right over off stump there
38.3
0
Steyn to Mendis, no run, straight away comes down the track and misses the wild waft outside off

Ajanthan Mendis is at No. 10. Sri Lanka have lost three wickets in the batting powerplay

38.2
W
Steyn to Kulasekara, OUT, off you go, says Styen as Kulasekara goes for a dab to third man and chops a short ball well outside off onto his stumps. The crowd in Colombo is stunned

KMDN Kulasekara b Steyn 1 (6m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.33

Nathan: "13 overs to go with less than 30 minutes of play left. Why was the delay. Slow over rate?" Will happen with a four man pace attack

38.1
1
Steyn to Senanayake, 1 run, enough width for Senanayake to slice it behind point. Steyn ventured a little fuller than his traditional back of a length

END OF OVER:
38 | 6 Runs 2 Wkts | SL: 222/7 (83 runs required from 12 overs, RR: 5.84, RRR: 6.91)

  • Nuwan Kulasekara1 (2b)
  • Sachithra Senanayake5 (2b)
  • Ryan McLaren6-0-33-2
  • Dale Steyn6-0-37-0

Jan: "after seeing Sangakkara's reaction of the the Thirimanne dismissal, how would he react to his own silly shot?"

37.6
0
McLaren to Kulasekara, no run, can't beat slip this time. Kallis dives to his right and does his bit to add further pressure on the hosts. The par score is 254 now. Sri Lanka way behind
37.5
1
McLaren to Senanayake, 1 run, another short ball and Senanayake has steered it nicely to third man again. This time it's just a single
37.4
4
McLaren to Senanayake, FOUR, dabbed away past the lone slip to the third man boundary. Deft little stroke there

Sachithra Senanayake is out in the middle now and the par score has ballooned

37.3
W
McLaren to Sangakkara, OUT, this is right off the bottom of the bat, it's a steepler but extra cover has got under it. It was full and just a touch too wide and made him reach for it. Magnificent innings from Sanga, but the demands of Duckworth and Lewis and a resurgent South Africa pace attack get to him

KC Sangakkara c sub (F du Plessis) b McLaren 88 (144m 84b 9x4 0x6) SR: 104.76

37.2
1
McLaren to Kulasekara, 1 run, flicked away from off stump for a single to long leg

Kulasekara rushes out to the middle. Touches the turf for some good luck. Du Plessis is chatting with McLaren and Steyn regarding the field and bowling plans

37.1
W
McLaren to Thirimanne, OUT, bowled him! This was full and straight and he goes for a hoick across the line. Sanga was hitting wonderfully at the other end. He threw his head back at the non-strikers' That was not the shot to play, especially considering you expose the tail

HDRL Thirimanne b McLaren 15 (34m 26b 0x4 0x6) SR: 57.69

D/L par score after this over will be 223

END OF OVER:
37 | 10 Runs | SL: 216/5 (89 runs required from 13 overs, RR: 5.83, RRR: 6.84)

  • Kumar Sangakkara88 (83b)
  • Lahiru Thirimanne15 (25b)
  • Dale Steyn6-0-37-0
  • Ryan McLaren5-0-27-0
36.6
0
Steyn to Sangakkara, no run, goes for the yorker just outside off, Sanga can't squeeze it out
36.5
4
Steyn to Sangakkara, FOUR, he's laced this through point and cover! That's an excellent strike from Sanga, backed away and threaded it past Duminy's despairing dive

It is a day match so there are certain regulations to be followed before the lights can be put on

36.4
1
Steyn to Thirimanne, 1 run, good length ball carved away past point.

South Africa tour of Sri Lanka 2014 News

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    South Africa's performance in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe was not the tip-toeing or trepidation of a team in the throes of a transformation. It was the swagger of a side that had already settled

  • Sea, sun, scandal

    Our correspondent takes in the sights and sounds of Galle and Colombo, and reports on a tampering controversy

  • Steyn and Morkel hunt in pairs, Tahir flops

    ESPNcricinfo marks the South African players out of 10 following their series win against Sri Lanka

  • Mathews, Perera shine bright for Sri Lanka

    ESPNcricinfo marks the Sri Lankan players out of 10 following their series loss against South Africa

  • Mathews rues Galle collapse

    Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews bemoaned his team's batting collapse in the first Test in Galle which allowed South Africa to settle for a draw at the SSC and claim the series

Captain Fantastic

1166

Number of international runs made by Angelo Mathews this year before this game, behind only Sangakkara and Williamson

Prolific Pair

5493

Number of ODI runs added by Sangakkara and Jayawardene before this match, behind only Tendulkar and Ganguly's 8227

Top Stuff

1614

Number of international runs made by Kumar Sangakkara this year, before this game. Kane Williamson is second on the list with 1172

Day Difficulty

240

The highest successful chase in a day game at Premadasa Stadium, by Sri Lanka against India back in 1997

Twice Triumphant

2

Number of times Sri Lanka have chased 300 or more successfully against South Africa, in six attempts before this game

Big Chase

289

The highest successful chase in Sri Lanka, by the hosts against Pakistan in Dambulla in 2009

High Score

304

South Africa's 304 for 5 in this match is their highest total against the hosts in Sri Lanka. Their previous best was 264 for 9, made in 2000

Record Partnership

151

The third-wicket stand between Amla and de Villiers in this match is the highest for South Africa against the hosts in Sri Lanka

Mystery Mendis

15.70

Ajantha Mendis' bowling average against South Africa, his second-best against Test-playing opposition after Zimbabwe

Amla tied with Kirsten

13

Number of ODI centuries Hashim Amla and Gary Kirsten have made. For SA, only Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers have made more