General Mathews, Akila Dananjaya hand South Africa a drubbing 13 Aug 2018 By Lankanewspapers Local
Sri Lanka 299 for 8 (Mathews 97*, Mulder 2-59) beat South Africa 121 (de Kock 54, Akila 6-29) by 178 runs
100 was scored in 99 balls . It was up to Maharaj to pull things back and he did. He was introduced in the 18th over and treated with respect from Mathews, who knew runs would come at the other end. Mathews drove a Phehlukwayo slower ball through mid-on, a Rabada length ball through mid-off and another in the 'v,' to establish his authority.
Maharaj was rewarded for his persistence when he drew Kusal Mendis forward to play away from his body and found the edge. The fall of that wicket sent Mathews into a shell and another five boundary-free overs were bowled. Sri Lanka scored 48 runs in the 11 overs between 26 and 37 while Maharaj bowled out, conceding his only boundary when Dhananjaya de Silva pulled a long-hop over midwicket. But once Maharaj completed his quota, Sri Lanka could free their arms.
De Silva was too hasty and tried to smack a Mulder slower ball down the ground, and gave Reeza Hendricks at mid-off a high catch but Mathews finished the over by flat-batting Mulder for four to make it clear who was controlling the proceedings.
At the end of the 40th over, Mathews brought up his fifty with a single off 66 balls. His next 47 runs came in 31 balls and included delights such as a sweep for six off Duminy, a cut off Phehlukwayo, and an array of pull shots as the young quicks over-relied on the short ball. Thisara Perera didn't really get going and sliced a cut to Hashim Amla at backward point but Dasun Shanaka's 15-ball 21 came in handy. Shanaka was dismissed in the final over, when Mathews needed six runs for a century but only managed three singles, finishing three runs short of a first hundred in Sri Lanka and against South Africa. He won't mind too much because his bowlers skittled out the opposition in half the time they had at their disposal.
South Africa's chase started on the back foot when Amla was bowled for a duck. A beauty from Suranga Lakmal pitched on middle and seamed away to remove the off-stump bail.
Aiden Markram, who was included after missing the last two matches, looked determined to better his record on this tour. He took three successive boundaries off Lakmal before failing to read an Akila googly and popping up a simple return catch. Hendricks was bowled the next ball, by another googly. In the next over, Heinrich Klaasen, too, didn't pick the Akila wrong'un and was struck below the knee roll in front of middle, leaving South Africa 39 for 4.
De Kock and JP Duminy's partnership was South Africa's best chance of staying in the game, and they put on 46 together before Duminy danced down to a de Silva length ball and only got a leading edge to offer a return catch. De Kock brought up 50 off 53 balls in the same over but would have known it was only a matter of time.
Mulder was out lbw to Lahiru Kumara and, in the next over, de Kock was bowled by an Akila ball that turned past his outside edge. Akila's fifth came with a stroke of mastery. He pushed Phehlukwayo back with a quicker one and then drew him forward with a slower one and took the edge. His sixth was Maharaj, who threw his bat at a legbreak and was caught at mid-off which allowed Akila to leapfrog Lungi Ngidi as the leading wicket-taker in the series.
The 3-2 series scoreline will suggest it was a tight contest. It wasn't. The result of this match is a more accurate reflection of the tour as a whole. It was one-sided but for the fourth ODI and only showed both sides there is plenty to be done before the 2019 World Cup .
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