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Scorecard Summary
SOUTH AFRICA 223/7 (50 OVERS)
- AB de Villiers47 (72)
- David Miller*85 (72)
- Thisara Perera2/51 (8)
- Ajantha Mendis3/35 (10)
SRI LANKA 167 (43.2 OVERS)
- Thisara Perera65 (49)
- Dinesh Chandimal29 (65)
- Farhaan Behardien3/19 (6)
- Lonwabo Tsotsobe4/22 (7)
Scorer: Sanjay Murari | Commentator: George Binoy
9.55 pm South Africa stay alive in this series and the scoreline is now 2-1 in Sri Lanka's favour with two to play. This is only the second time South Africa have beaten Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, after their maiden victory in 1993. That's quite a long wait.
It did not look like it would happen when South Africa's top and middle order struggled for direction and it needed an explosive finish from David Miller to give them a defendable total. Then Mokel and Tsotsobe cut open the Sri Lankan innings with the new ball and South Africa were favourites after that, despite a brutal assault from Thisara Perera late in the piece.
Amar: "I would be really surprised if Tsotsobe gets the Man of the Match instead of Miller keeping in mind Tsotsobe dropping a dolly which could have cost them the game!"
Nawaz Ahmed: "I think T Perera should get some award or recognition for his five 6's and a 4." Isn't appreciation enough?
And here's the presentation ... David Miller is the Man of the Match for a half-century that transformed South Africa's innings. He says it was hard to bat all through the innings, and possible the match. "We only went in the last two overs, would have been nice if we went earlier but the conditions did not allow for that."
Angelo Mathews: "I thought the bowlers did a brilliant job, we were good on the field. Except for the last three overs we did well. The batters had to tough it out. Thisara Perera looked like he was batting on a different strip. He's turning out to be a brilliant allrounder. I got out at the wrong time, with Thisara at the other end, I should have hung around a bit ..."
AB: "It's hard to explain how proud I am of the boys. It wasn't easy. We were under pressure through the game. After losing Ryan McLaren, I found out in the 30th over that he wasn't going to bowl anymore and that was a shock. I threw Robin Peterson in the deep end ... it was a good performance. Morne was quite aggressive today, he really set the standard up front ... once again we maybe did not have enough partnership and an unnecessary run out, I take responsibility there, Faf was looking really good ..."
That's all we have for you today on the commentary. Andrew Fernando will be filing his stories from Pallekele and do check out Firdose Moonda's updated match report.
Thank you for all your emails today, good night!
BAW Mendis c Tsotsobe b Duminy 0 (2m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Mr. G: "Something to ponder on for Robbie P- Thisara was at ease carting him for 35, yet struggled to do the same against AB and Behardien. Lesson to be learnt perhaps?"
END OF OVER:43 | 1 Run 2 Wkts | SL: 166/9 (58 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 3.86, RRR: 8.28)
- Ajantha Mendis0 (1b)
- Rangana Herath11 (32b)
- Farhaan Behardien6-0-19-3
- Jean-Paul Duminy9-1-22-0
Mendis is the last man for Sri Lanka. What a stunning job Duminy and Behardien have done for South Africa, with the ball.
Johan: "I'd like to see who's man of the match here. Probably Millar for playing what could be a career-defining knock, but Duminy's contribution with the ball should not be underestimated..."
SL Malinga b Behardien 0 (4m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Match Coverage
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Some days, Upul Tharanga bats so well, his innings seem like a dream. Other times, he falls asleep at the crease. It is a vacillating pattern he must arrest immediately, with the team's batting future at stake
De Villiers lauds team's character under pressure
There were moments in the third ODI that bore the hallmarks of a classic South Africa meltdown, but after the match the captain AB de Villiers lauded his side's strength under pressure
Perera punishes Peterson
Plays of the day from the third ODI between Sri Lanka and South Africa
Miller, Tsotsobe keep series alive
South Africa dictated proceedings for the first time in the series as they beat Sri Lanka by 56 runs
Thirty-five runs in an over
The 33rd over of Sri Lanka's innings, bowled by Robin Peterson, cost 35 runs. Here's how Thisara Perera did it