South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2012 ODI Series

4th One Day interantional

Series Result: 3-0

Match Preview

The Sri Lankan cricket team not only has run out of form off late, but also found themselves on the wrong end of mother nature's tantrum during the 3rd ODI of the Sunfoil series against South Africa in Bloemfontein. The Lankan bowlers managed a couple of good scalps and looked like they would finally manage to make a comeback and save the series when rain decided to foil their plans by stopping by for tea and deciding to stay for dinner. The luckless lions probably went to bed cursing Duckworth and Lewis as South Africa won the match by just 4 runs. The worn out Lankan team have nothing left but to save face with a victory in the 4th ODI set to take place at the De Beers Diamond Oval. The Proteas, needless to say, will look to push Lanka lower by improving their series figures to 4-0.

South Africa:
South Africa have an amazing opportunity to test their bench strength as World No.1 batsman Hashim Amla has pulled out of the series owing to family responsibilities and veteran Jacques Kallis has been rested for the remainder of the series. Conveniently for South Africa, Faf Du Plessis displayed brilliant skill during the 3rd ODI and made sure the Proteas were ahead at the finish line. His blistering 72 at Bloemfontein left Sri Lanka dumbstruck while Colin Ingram started off dangerously before being toppled by Malinga. Skipper AB de Villiers looked like he would take the team safely ashore anyway, when rain played spoilsport.
Also, it would just be rude to ignore his innovative mind which has kept South Africa on top throughout the series. Demoting himself to number 6 to make space for Faf Du Plessis proved to be the tungsten for his bulb. Du Plessis agreed, saying '(I am) very grateful to AB and Kirsten to have promoted me. The series win is a very big achievement for us.I was suffering from cramps and it became a bit serious. The track was playing nice and with AB there, we were very confident. We really want to make it 5-0.'
Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, and Lonwabo Tsotsobe have all contributed massively to RSA's success, but the team might also consider giving chances to Wayne Parnell and Vernon Philander for the remaining two matches. The South African men have also been very agile on the field helping their bowlers maintain the pressure throughout.

Sri Lanka:
One of the very few reasons that the Lankan team can be happy about is that their top order clicked during the 3rd ODI. Though none of the batsmen could bat longer than Upul Tharanga(58 off 65), all of the batters managed to get starts, which means that there is still life in the so far spineless lineup. Kumar Sangakkara managed a tasty 38 off 37 balls while Nuwan Kulasekara romped a quick 40 before being bowled out by Morkel. Dinesh Chandimal can always surprise the bowlers depending on the situation. Mahela Jayawardhane would want to make a plausible contribution to the scorecard at Kimberly. As far as the Lankan bowling is concerned, 'slinga' will be Dilshan's lifeline. Nuwan Kulasekara also managed to set a rhythm with Malinga, pushing the Proteas to 53-3 at one point. It will be up to Herath and the others to back the pacers in upturning the World No.3 team

Final word:
Proteas look for a whitewash while the so far toothless Lankans look to muster a win. A big score will be the key to the team batting first on a high scoring Kimberly pitch.

Teams:

South Africa (From): AB de Villiers(w/c), Graeme Smith, Morne Morkel, Alviro Petersen, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Johan Botha, Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Albie Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Colin Ingram

Sri Lanka(From): WU Tharanga, KC Sangakkara, DPMD Jayawardene, TM Dilshan, CRD Fernando, KMDN Kulasekara, SL Malinga, BAW Mendis, KTGD Prasad, HMRKB Herath, AD Mathews, NLTC Perera, HDRL Thirimanne, LD Chandimal, Kosala Kulasekara,

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