Sri Lanka keeps South Africa to 299/6 despite Amla ton

The run machine in Hashim Amla crossed more milestones by becoming the first South African and the fastest ever to reach 25 One-Day International centuries, helping his side post 299 for 6 against a spirited Sri Lankan attack in their Group B clash of the ICC Champions Trophy at The Oval on Saturday.

Amla scored his runs in the same manner he breaks records – with ease, without fuss, and without too many even realising. It was also mighty effective and his 103 was just the knock South Africa needed on a pitch that wasn’t exactly the batting paradise the venue has been of late.

Amla shared a 145-run stand for the second wicket with Faf du Plessis (75) but Sri Lanka fought well on either side of the partnership through its pacers. That it managed to restrict South Africa without the injured Angelo Mathews, and with only four specialist bowlers, was a testament to its accuracy and discipline.

After opting to field, Sri Lanka came out with a definite and effective plan of bowling straight, not giving any room for Quinton de Kock and Amla to free their arms. It nearly worked wonders when Suranga Lakmal almost had de Kock leg before in the fourth over, only for the third umpire to negate Sri Lanka’s referral as it was umpire’s call on height.

Still, Lakmal and the experienced Lasith Malinga succeeded in tying down the openers. De Kock managed only four runs off his first 20 deliveries and took 24 balls for his first boundary, while Amla took 28 for his. The relentless accuracy meant South Africa scored only 32 runs in the first 10 overs.

Nuwan Pradeep reaped rewards from the pressure built by Lakmal and Malinga when he induced de Kock to edge to the wicketkeeper in the 13th over. Pradeep nearly had another one soon when du Plessis skied a short ball to fine-leg, only for Malinga to make a meal of the chance.

Du Plessis was on eight then, and it was a mistake Sri Lanka would go on to rue. For despite the good start, Sri Lanka had to rely on Asela Gunaratne for ten overs. The part-time medium pacer was content bowling on the batsmen’s pads from around the stumps, resulting in easy runs.

The lack of help for spinners rendered Seekkuge Prasanna pretty harmless too, and du Plessis and Amla weren’t going to miss out.

In typical style, the pressed on the accelerator in stealth mode in the middle overs. Amla went big a couple of times with some skillful footwork complemented by quick hands, but the partnership was predominantly built on plenty of ones and twos.

Du Plessis hit only four boundaries but crossed 50 off 52 balls while Amla too picked up pace to reach his off 56 deliveries.

Without much risk, South Africa reached 163 after 30 overs, adding 131 runs between overs 10 and 30. It made one wonder where the next wicket would come from, but against the run of play, Sri Lanka got two in two overs.

Du Plessis first fell pulling Pradeep to mid-wicket, where Dinesh Chandimal took an excellent catch diving to his right. It wasn’t the worst of timings for a wicket given the next man in was AB de Villiers, but he fell in a soft manner when he lobbed a simple catch to cover attempting to pull Prasanna. The leg-spinner ended up conceding 72 from his 10 overs, but might have also saved a lot more with that wicket.

The double-strike forced Amla to slow down as Sri Lanka applied the brakes once again. In a period where South Africa would have ideally liked to dominate, it ended up getting only 58 runs in the final ten-over block of the second Power Play.

Amla and David Miller rebuilt once again for a brief while, with Amla crossing his century in the 42nd over by nudging Lakmal to fine-leg. However, Miller fell the very next ball slashing to the same fielder. And as was the case the previous time, one led to two as Amla’s tired legs gave up on an attempted second run. From a comfortable 189 for 1 in the 34th over, South Africa slipped to 232 for 5 by the 43rd.

They went through a six-over period without a single boundary, but JP Duminy gave them some momentum going into the break slamming an unbeaten 20-ball 38.