South Africa go 2-0 up, de Kock and quicks impress

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South Africa followed up their five-wicket victory in the first ODI with another commanding performance, going 2-0 up in the five-match series.

The visitors got off to a flyer when Lungi Ngidi (3/50) took two wickets in the second over of the day, and an all-round bowling display helped them restrict the hosts to a below-par 244/8. Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo, who bowled beautifully, both claimed three-fors.

Niroshan Dickwella played nicely for his 69, and Angelo Mathews was watchful for his unbeaten 79, but Sri Lanka lacked the batting firepower to quell the threat of the South Africa attack.

In the second innings, Quinton de Kock helped get South Africa off to a great start with a 78-ball 87 as the visitors made light work of the chase until a mid-to-late innings wobble made the contest look closer than it really was.

Earlier, Sri Lanka, who handed ODI debuts to Prabath Jayasuriya and Kasun Rajitha won the toss and elected to bat at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, but their innings had shaky foundations.

The hosts lost two wickets while on 13, with Upul Tharanga, who chased a wide one and edged behind off the bowling of Ngidi, and Kusal Mendis, lbw the very next ball, failing at the top.

Tharanga’s sense of adventure got the better of him; he sumptuously connected with a flick to the square-leg boundary before driving expertly through the off-side for four, only to get out the next ball. Ngidi then appeared to rush a bemused Mendis as he made it two in two.

Sri Lanka reached 50 in the ninth over but Kusal Perera also fell cheaply – Ngidi again involved, this time taking the catch off the bowling of Phehlukwayo – to make it 56/3.

The fast bowler enticed the pull with a shorter ball just wide of off-stump – a needlessly risky shot from Sri Lanka’s No.5, who was caught in the deep.

It was left to Dickwella and Mathews to steady the ship. Proteas spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, fresh from his four-wicket-haul in the first ODI, got off to a poor start, allowing Dickwella consecutive boundaries behind square on the off-side to bring up his fifty – his sixth in ODIs.

The partnership of 67 between Dickwella and Mathews was eventually broken by the impressive Phehlukwayo (3/45), who enticed Dickwella to chop onto his stumps. But Mathews ploughed on with a valiant captain’s knock, an exemplary display of controlled aggression, as he was left undefeated on 79 from 111 balls.

Shehan Jayasuriya edged one down the leg-side off Willem Mulder for 18, Ngidi claimed his third when he enticed the edge of Thisara Perera, while Kagiso Rabada and Phehlukwayo picked up the scalps of Akila Dananjaya and Suranga Lakmal in the innings' final stages, as Sri Lanka posted 244/8 from their 50 overs.

In the South Africa reply, Kusal Perera dropped Hashim Amla on four, and the veteran, in partnership with de Kock, gave South Africa a solid start, before the former was caught and bowled by Dananjaya for a run-a-ball 43. But de Kock continued his domineering display, hitting consecutive boundaries to bring up his fifty.

Spinner Dananjaya struck just after drinks, when Aiden Markram was fooled by a leg-break and edged to Kusal Perera to make it 109/2. Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis entered the crease and along with de Kock ushered their side into a commanding position, keeping their wickets in tact but still keeping the scorers busy.

An assured partnership was broken when Kasun Rajitha, the debutant paceman, removed de Kock 13 runs shy of triple figures. The opener connected well but Lakmal gobbled it up on the mid-wicket boundary. It offered Sri Lanka a slither of hope, but nothing more.

That slither turned into a half-chance when du Plessis and David Miller were removed in quick-succession. Dananjaya (3/60) got his second caught and bowled – his third wicket of the match – when the South Africa skipper chipped one straight back at him.

Once again, du Plessis, who scored a run-a-ball 43, missed out on a fifty, having notched 49, 47 and 48 on this tour already. Miller departed for 3 off the bowling of Suranga Lakmal, playing loosely to a full delivery outside off and edging to the reliable mitts of Mendis at slip to make it 198/5. It was Lakmal’s 100th scalp in ODI cricket.

Mulder and JP Duminy dealt in singles, with South Africa still comfortably on top of the required rate, but with 14 runs to win Perera grabbed the wicket of Duminy, who smacked the ball straight to Mendis at extra cover. Ultimately, Mulder and Phehlukwayo saw the visitors over the finishing line with 7.1 overs to spare.