Tahir, Amla lead rout of Sri Lanka

South Africa 299 for 6 (Amla 103, du Plessis 75, Pradeep 2-54) v Sri Lanka
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A velvet 103 off 115 balls from Hashim Amla, and an efficient 75 off 70 from Faf du Plessis formed the basis of South Africa’s 299 for 6. It perhaps reads like a par score in the context of the totals that have been mounted in England in recent days, but represented, nevertheless, an imposing challenge for Sri Lanka, given the tricky nature of this Oval surface.

While that pair’s stand for the second wicket gave the innings its body, JP Duminy cracked 38 not out off 20 to give South Africa some legs on the final stretch. Sri Lanka, though, might reflect that keeping a powerful South Africa middle order to 78 off the last 10 overs – which they had approached with seven wickets in hand – represented a small victory, particularly as death bowling has been an area of concern over the past year.

Nuwan Pradeep, who was perhaps a surprise inclusion, was the best of the bowlers, claiming two wickets for 54, despite having du Plessis dropped by Lasith Malinga on the fine leg boundary on 8. Malinga’s own return to ODIs for the first time since November 2015 went roughly as expected: he was slower by at least a dozen kilometres per hour than he had been in his heyday, but still possessed the wiles to keep batsmen muzzled throughout the innings.

His final analysis was a respectable 0 for 57 but his work in the field, however, was downright shoddy, especially in comparison to the efforts of his teammates, who effected two run outs, and held all their catches otherwise.

Early in his innings, Amla had been cautions, the pitch turning up slwoer than expected, and Sri Lanka delivering some especially tight overs. He hovered in the crease through the early overs, dabbing and squeezing his way into the innings, and not until the penultimate ball of the first Powerplay did he venture a boundary: a flick off Pradeep over the legside. He made only 26 fff the first 40 balls he faced.

It was following the departure of opening partner Quinton de Kock, who had begun with similar reticence before edging Pradeep behind on 23 off 42 balls, that Amla began to play with more ambition. There was a six over long off, off Asela Gunaratne, in the 19th over, before a few overs later, he slunk down the pitch to send Seekkuge Prasanna sailing over the deep midwicket fence. In between those two shots he had reached fifty, and suddenly, was batting at a run a ball.

His partnership with du Plessis, was the most fruitful of the innings, the pair hauling South Africa to a position of strength with their quickening 149-run stand. Amla, having provided the innings its thrust during the overs when du Plessis was feeling his way into the game, allowed his partner to make the riskier plays during the middle overs, saving for himself the role of turning strike over.

There were long stretches without a boundary: between the 24th over and the 43rd – when he got out – he hit only one four. His dismissal in the end, was the result of a poorly judged second run – Kusal Mendis swooping on the ball from deep midwicket and sending it to the keeper on the bounce, to find a diving Amla comfortably short.

At his departure, the score was 232 midway through the 43rd over, and South Africa looked set to easily eclipse 300, with Chris Morris and Duminy at the crease. But Lakmal and Pradeep were disciplined through the death, and though Malinga was nowhere near as dangerous or accurate as he had once been, he also mustered up a half-decent final spell. Duminy hit a four and six off the last two balls of the innings to ruin Pradeep’s figures slightly.

The most expensive bowler of the innings had been Seekkuge Prasanna, who conceded 72 – Sri Lanka playing him in favour of the more aggressive Lakshan Sandakan, in keeping with a recent trend of making fearful bowling selections.

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Source: ESPN Crickinfo