Sri Lanka turn tables on South Africa

Hard-hitting Perera seals first win for Sri Lanka



AB de Villiers congratulates Angelo Mathews on Sri Lanka's win

South Africa v Sri Lanka, 4th ODI, Kimberley

Sri Lanka restored some pride against
South Africa with a five-wicket victory

in the fourth one-day international in Kimberley.

Sri Lanka 304 for 5 (Dilshan 87, Perera 69*, Chandimal 59)

beat South Africa 299 for 7 (de Villiers 96, Smith 68) by five wickets

It took Sri Lanka three consecutive defeats to get their batsmen firing in unison. Tillakaratne Dilshan finally played with freedom to give the chase momentum, Dinesh Chandimal anchored it in the middle overs, and Thisara Perera stunned South Africa with sustained hitting to overhaul a stiff target in Kimberley. Perera had also struck crucial blows earlier with the ball, making South Africa lose their way in the final quarter of their innings, when 350 had looked achievable at one stage.

In the end, that late batting stumble on a flat pitch was where South Africa lost the game, after having been 171 for 1 in the 24th over and 242 for 3 in the 39th. They did have Sri Lanka requiring more than 100 at close to seven an over but the visitors always had wickets in hand, and Perera sealed the chase with a volley of sixes. He also pressurised South Africa's fielding, which unravelled in a series of dropped chances and missed run-outs.

Perera, playing his first game of the series, was promoted ahead of Angelo Mathews with Sri Lanka on 194 for 4 at the start of the batting Powerplay. When Perera was trapped lbw by Wayne Parnell off the sixth ball he faced, it looked like Sri Lanka had only heaped more pressure on Mathews. But Parnell was found to have overstepped by a big margin on referral, and it was to be Perera's night. He almost hit his next delivery straight back to Robin Peterson but recovered to slam the next two for a six and a four.

Perera swung the game in Sri Lanka's favour with consecutive blows over the midwicket boundary off Peterson in the 43rd over, the second bringing up his maiden ODI fifty off 30 deliveries. With 34 now needed off 42, Perera soon took Sri Lanka to the highest ODI total in Kimberley with a straight six off JP Duminy in the 49th over.

Smart statsThis is the sixth time overall and the first time against South Africa that Sri Lanka have managed to chase down a target of 300 or more. It is also their first successful chase over 300 since their win over India in Nagpur in 2009.

South Africa suffered their first defeat at the venue in six matches. It is also the first time they have batted first in Kimberley. In their previous meeting against Sri Lanka at the venue in 2002, they won by eight wickets.

Thisara Perera's 69 came off only 44 balls. The strike rate of 156.81 is the highest for a Sri Lankan batsman against South Africa for an innings of fifty or over. It is also his first half-century in ODIs.

Tillakaratne Dilshan scored only his third half-century since the World Cup. In 20 innings, he has scored just 399 runs at 19.95.

AB de Villiers' 96 is the second-highest score by a South African captain in a defeat after Graeme Smith's 141 against England in 2009. de Villiers' strike rate of 126.31 is second on the list of top strike rates for fifty-plus innings by South African captains in losses.

That Perera had a manageable asking-rate to contend with was down to Dilshan. With his captaincy on the line, and having made 0, 0 and an uncharacteristically subdued 33 in the first three ODIs, Dilshan's approach was anything but muted. His fluent 83-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara set the tone for Sri Lanka's response.

South Africa tried to bounce Dilshan out but he pulled his second delivery for four, whipped his fourth over square leg for six and soon scooped Vernon Philander for six over fine leg. Despite Upul Tharanga falling early to Tsotsobe, Dilshan and Sangakkara never allowed the asking-rate to climb over six.

Sangakkara's first attempt to take on the left-arm spin of Peterson seemed to have paid off when he lofted the bowler cleanly towards the midwicket boundary. But Alviro Petersen pulled off an astounding leaping catch near the rope and Sangakkara could scarcely believe his misfortune.

Chandimal ensured Sri Lanka did not lose momentum. Two balls after Sangakkara fell, Chandimal stepped out to slam Peterson over the long-on boundary. Both Dilshan and Chandimal kept taking singles, and the stand was already worth 68 before Dilshan slapped Tsotsobe straight to short extra cover to depart for 87.

Lahiru Thirimanne followed soon but Perera arrived to take control of the innings, and despite Chandimal falling to Tsotsobe for 59, he ensured Sri Lanka had enough firepower to register their first win of the series.

It was Perera who brought Sri Lanka back after de Villiers had threatened to blow them away in a feast of exquisite boundary hitting. Perera removed Duminy and de Villiers in successive overs as South Africa stumbled from 242 for 3 to an ultimately underwhelming 299. Until de Villiers fell for 96 in the 41st over, South Africa had control over a listless Sri Lanka attack and were racing towards a total of about 350.

The under-pressure Graeme Smith made only his second half-century in 17 innings and his 84-run opening partnership with Alviro Petersen prepared a solid base for the middle order. de Villiers promoted himself to No. 3 and raced to 50 off 31 deliveries, peppering the extra-cover boundary with lofted shots.

Smith, who had been subdued throughout the series, was allowed to find much-needed form as Sri Lanka fed his strength by bowling on leg stump. From the moment he worked Lasith Malinga for consecutive boundaries, through fine leg and midwicket in the third over, Smith's struggle was over. In all, 57 of Smith's 68 runs came on the leg side.

While Smith had the poor lines to cash in on, de Villiers needed no help from the bowlers. He put on a display of effortless hitting, making room and carving the offspin of Sachithra Senanayake and Dilshan over extra cover. It made no difference where the spinners bowled - even deliveries fired in on leg stump met with the same fate as they disappeared over extra cover.

Kulasekara gave the visitors some respite when he trapped Colin Ingram leg-before. The scoring-rate, which was comfortably above seven, now started dipping. Duminy was unable to keep up the pace, and even de Villiers tapered off, making his final 46 runs off 45 deliveries.

After Perera's double-strike, Faf du Plessis came and went, but the lower order sensibly batted out the remaining overs to push South Africa to one short of 300. As it turned out, they hadn't budgeted for Perera's six-hitting prowess.


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Kallis, Petersen put South Africa on top

Alviro Petersen and Jacques Kallis made a mockery of Sri Lanka's decision to bowl

South Africa v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, Cape Town, 1st day
South Africa 347 for 3 (Kallis 159*, Petersen 109, de Villiers 45*) v Sri Lanka
At Stumps

Alviro Petersen made a memorable return to Test cricket, and Jacques Kallis enjoyed his new-found batting freedom as South Africa made a merry mockery of Sri Lanka's decision to bowl at Newlands. Kallis had a sense of occasion, converting his 114-ball century into a 150-plus score in his 150th Test. His first ton against Sri Lanka, and his first in a year, was all the more significant since it silenced murmurs of failing form following the first pair of his glittering career, in Durban.

Kallis' century reaffirmed his love affair with Cape Town, a venue where he now has nine Test hundreds and over 2000 runs. But one man who might be happier with his day's work is Petersen, whose fluency during his second Test ton glossed over the fact that he was returning to the side after a year. The pair's dominance yielded 205 runs in under 50 overs, and negated any advantage Sri Lanka had gained from Dhammika Prasad's early breaches.

Regardless of the ease with which South Africa progressed, there was merit in Sri Lanka's call to bowl; their historic win in Durban did not mask their problems against pace and bounce, and was founded upon South Africa's own abject batting display. Dilshan's decision shielded his weaker suit, and gave his seamers the mandate to attack South Africa in marginally helpful weather. He was, however, let down by a sketchy plan of action, and conditions that quickly played into the batsmen's hands. Sri Lanka were too full in the first hour, too short in the second, and all over the place in the afternoon, before tightening their act after tea.

In between-times, though, Prasad managed to hit the in-between lengths. His ability to ramp the pace up to 140 kph - a rare feat in an attack missing Dilhara Fernando - earned him success against Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla. Both batsmen began well, but perished to familiar failings - Smith chopped on while attempting a reckless cut, and Amla was trapped in front as he walked across the stumps. Amla consulted with Petersen, and rightly chose not to review the decision. That wasn't the only instance of Petersen's solid judgement in his comeback innings.

A couple of early drives down the ground and a nudge through square leg signalled that Petersen had carried his domestic form into the big league. Thereafter, he built steadily, before summoning the spirit to thrash Prasad over square leg for a six. He brought up his fifty with a brace of boundaries against Thisara Perera, before receding into the background.

Kallis came out throwing punches in all directions, reminiscent of his half-century against Australia in the recent Johannesburg Test. He nearly pulled his fourth ball straight to fine-leg, where Chanaka Welegedara inexplicably didn't go for the catch. Another pull off Angelo Mathews spiralled towards midwicket and landed safe. Encouraged, Mathews persisted with the short stuff, and Kallis pounded him into pulp with a raft of murderous pulls in front of square. Sri Lanka had missed their chance to nip him out early, and Kallis proceeded to enjoy himself.

Sri Lanka's discipline faltered dramatically after lunch. The early-morning moisture had evaporated, and with it all traces of sideways movement. Kallis rushed to his fifty off just 42 balls, and went on to expose their lack of pace, and Rangana Herath's lack of spin on the first-day surface. A 21-over phase without a single maiden suggested Sri Lanka's afternoon could not get any worse, but it did when they wasted both their reviews in desperation.

Petersen's signature shot was easily the straight drive, a shot he executed with an assured forward step and exemplary timing. Kallis, on the other hand, went on to produce shots of immense beauty in every direction. The punchy pulls gave way to picture-perfect cover drives and sublime straight hits, but the stroke that stood out was an astonishing whipped on-drive from the line of off stump when Thisara Perara was looking to angle one across defensively.

That shot came after Petersen's fall, sucked into an uppish drive by a Welegedara slower ball. The run-rate dropped below four for the first time in the 66th over, with de Villiers struggling to deal with Welegedara's offcutters. Having batted out of his comfort zone all day, Kallis seamlessly shifted into accumulation mode and chugged past 150. The stand was worth 86 by stumps, leaving Sri Lanka wondering if they had lost the Test even before it had started.

South Africa v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, Cape Town,

Smart stats:-

Jacques Kallis became the sixth player overall and the first South African to feature in 150 Tests. Among South African players, Mark Boucher is next with 144 matches.

Following his first pair in the Durban Test, Kallis scored his 41st century in his 150th Test. It is also his first century against Sri Lanka. Among batsmen with 10000-plus runs, Kallis has the highest average (56.98).

In the course of his innings, Kallis passed 2000 runs in Cape Town. He becomes only the third player after Mahela Jayawardene and Graham Gooch to score 2000-plus runs at a particular venue.

Kallis' present strike rate of 73.95 is his third-highest for a 100-plus score. The highest is 74.44 during his 201 against India in Centurion in 2010.

Alviro Petersen, making his comeback, scored his second century in his 10th Test. He has now scored 681 runs at an average of 37.83.

The 205-run stand between Kallis and Petersen is the third-highest third-wicket stand for South Africa in Cape Town since their readmission. It is also South Africa's best third-wicket stand against Sri Lanka.


Rangana Herath was the most economical bowler conceding just 63 runs off his 26 overs. The remaining bowlers conceded 282 runs in 64 overs (economy rate 4.40).

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