Even the most die-hard fan of South African cricket was likely to vote Monday’s eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka as the team’s least applauded triumph in international cricket.
Chasing 121 to sign off its World T20 campaign on a winning note, South Africa paced its response to make it into an almost a-run-a-ball affair and eventually won with 14 deliveries to spare.
The crowd in excess of 16,000 came to the Ferozeshah Kotla ground hoping to watch their hero A.B. de Villiers score big. But by the time he arrived at the crease, at 75 for two, there was not much left in the contest.
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Still, on his part, de Villiers did his bit. He hit a six that brought the crowd to its feet. His second six ended the match in the 18th over.
In fact, it was Hashim Amla who helped himself to a half-century, went past 1000 runs in the shortest format on this day and ensured an easy victory for South Africa.
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Amla, not usually given his due for his ability to score well over the strike-rate of 100 in T20 games, once again proved to be an effective performer on a pitch that assisted the Lankan spinners. He remained unbeaten with 52-ball 56, with a six and five boundaries.
It was not easy for the players to stay motivated in an inconsequential contest, with the semifinalists already decided. Such being the scenario, it was truly commendable that Amla played his part to perfection.
Earlier in the contest, there was a time when it appeared that the South Africans could be chasing a bigger target. Sri Lanka, in spite of Player-of-the-Match Aaron Phangiso’s twin-strike in the fifth over, was cruising at 71 for two after nine overs, with Tillakaratne Dilshan looking set for a big knock.
Trade deficit
However, in the next 10.3 overs that the innings lasted, Lanka traded eight wickets for just 49 runs!
Dinesh Chandimal who took over the captaincy from a rested Angelo Mathews, promised much after his 20-ball 21 that included a six and a four off Dale Steyn’s second over that fetched 16 runs.
The stand-in skipper failed to read the turn from left-arm spinner just like Lahiru Thirimanne was to do off the next delivery to lose his leg-stump.
Briefly, Milinda Siriwardana looked good until he was run-out following a mix-up with Dilshan. Thereafter, Shehan Jayasuriya failed to make the most of the opportunity. The backbone of Lanka was truly broken when Dilshan, Kapugedara and Perera fell in successive overs.
Dasun Shanaka tried to add some brisk runs but lost the company of Rangana Herath in the 18th over, before Kyle Abbot returned to scalp Vandersay with an express delivery. Off the next ball, the Lankan innings ended when Lakmal failed to beat a direct throw from David Wiese at the non-striker’s end.