Match Centre
Match Details
Toss
Player Of The Match
Series result
Match number
Season
Match days
ODI debut
TV Umpires
Reserve Umpire
Match Referee
Scorecard Summary
SOUTH AFRICA 363/7 (50 OVERS)
- Jean-Paul Duminy92 (70)
- Reeza Hendricks102 (89)
- Thisara Perera4/75 (10)
- Lahiru Kumara2/67 (10)
SRI LANKA 285 (45.2 OVERS)
- Dhananjaya de Silva84 (66)
- Akila Dananjaya37 (42)
- Andile Phehlukwayo3/74 (9)
- Lungi Ngidi4/57 (8.2)
Commentator: Sreshth Shah
6.11pm That's all from us at Pallekele. The visitors make it 3-0, and it's also time to say goodbye at ESPNcricinfo. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. See you for the fourth ODI. Till then, adios!
6.05pm Time for the presentation.
Faf du Plessis, the winning captain: "Brilliant today. Once again, the batting was fantastic. We played aggressive. And obviously, for a debutant to play that freely was great to see. Every game there's one or two guys putting their hands up. Today was less spin and a good one-day wicket. Was nice to see even our bowlers getting a bit of pressure but coming out on top. We just keep taking wickets and that's a great way to plug the run flow. The plan is to test the bench strength now that the series is over. It was good to see Reeza do well in a crunch game. Let's see how I pull up tomorrow, and then decide whether I'll play the fourth game."
Angelo Mathews, the losing captain: "360 to chase was too much. Our execution with the ball was poor, but this is the brand of cricket we want to play. Want to play positive cricket. But a bunch of positives today: Dhananjaya batted well, some bowlers bowled well. But credit to Reeza and Duminy. We need to think out of the box if we need to win away. I know we aren't doing well, but we need to play on good wickets to develop. We're playing for pride, and we want to finish the series off well."
Reeza Hendricks is the Man of the Match: "This is lot different than T20I cricket, and happy to contribute. The wicket was pretty good, and the total made it fairly difficult for Sri Lanka. I didn't know I was the fastest debutant to get an ODI hundred."
Lungi Ngidi: We saw our batsman bat well, so we knew it'll be high scoring. I expected the ball to grip a bit more, but it didn't. I think it was similar to South African surfaces, but if you bowl well you'll earn some bounce. The main chat has been to play positively and look for ways to pick wickets. And with a total like 360, we knew we didn't have to necessarily defend too much. A good return after losing the Test series.
wap36: "Though a SA fan, I am really happy about the positive attitude shown by the SL batting line up and making this a match. Specially at 6/155, there was no "give-up" attitude by De Silva and Dananjaya. "
Sandaru Herath: "Here is something for the sri lankan fans to cheer about Sl u19 beat Ind u19 by 7 runs and lead the 3 match series 2-1"
Buddika: "Mathews did two things right today; calling the toss and telling that his men could chase 270"
5.51pm That's the series for South Africa, as they take an unassailable 3-0 lead. It was always going to be a difficult chase, but Sri Lanka have themselves to blame for that. Poor bowling from the hosts, combined by some very thoughtful batting by the visitors, took them to 363, which was just too much for a fragile Sri Lankan line-up. There was hope, of course, when Dhananjaya and Dananjaya kept the scoreboard ticking, but when those wickets fell in a heap, it was one-way traffic thereafter. Mathews and Faf have a chat in the dressing room, while the rest of the players shake on the ground. Lungi Ngidi shined with his four-for, but even Andile Phehlukwayo was impressive with his three-for.
RAS Lakmal c & b Ngidi 12 (15b 1x4 0x6) SR: 80.00
Stoffels: "Even though Sri Lanka have improved in their batting, I still feel this is at least a 300 par wicket!" -- Yes, it's a true surface
END OF OVER:45 | 7 Runs | SL: 285/9 (79 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 6.33, RRR: 15.80)
- Lahiru Kumara7 (13b)
- Suranga Lakmal12 (13b)
- Tabraiz Shamsi10-0-62-2
- Lungi Ngidi8-0-57-3
Match Coverage
All Match NewsGetting dropped is part of playing for Sri Lanka - de Silva
Dhananjaya de Silva has been shunted around the Sri Lanka batting line-up a fair bit, but for now, he seems to have found a place in the lower-middle order
Series loss exposes Sri Lanka's top-order issues
Batting coach Thilan Samaraweera conceded that Sri Lanka's top order is nowhere near finalised, as they look ahead to the World Cup
South Africa ride on Hendricks ton, Duminy 92 to seal series
The visitors sealed a second successive ODI series win in Sri Lanka and 11th consecutive victory over their opponents, dating back to July 2014, after scoring the highest total on the island
We rely too much on our spinners - Angelo Mathews
Sri Lanka have done some soul-searching after a spate of poor results in ODIs, and identified that they need to become better across a variety of conditions and not just prosper on turning tracks
Can Sri Lanka end their losing streak against South Africa?
South Africa have beaten them 10 times in a row, in a streak stretching back to 2014