Amla, Tahir guide South Africa to big win over Sri Lanka

After opting to field, Sri Lanka came out with a definite and effective plan of bowling straight, and not giving any room to Quinton de Kock and Amla to free their arms. And, unlike the South African openers, Niroshan Dickwella and Upul Tharanga were not going to go slow and steady.

The middle order failed to capitalize after a good start and they have to win their remaining two games against India and Pakistan to have any hopes of a semi-final berth. His hundred in South Africa’s Champions Trophy opener should change that.

Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bowl first.

Pradeep should have had his second wicket when Faf du Plessis, on six, skied an attempted hook but Lasith Malinga made a complete mess of the catch on the boundary.

During his 103-run knock, which ended in a run out, Amla shared a 145-run stand for the second wicket with Faf du Plessis, who hit a 70-ball 75. Behind the run rate and with wickets falling, the underdogs panicked as they lost their last five wickets for just 57 runs.

An unbeaten 20-ball 38 from JP Duminy in the latter part of the innings helped South Africa end with a total of 299-6 from their 50 overs.

That mark seemed well within reach when the energetic Dickwella was swatting the ball all around The Oval. After sitting pretty on 94 for one, they were soon a little hot under the collar as it became 117 for four in the blink of an eye, and South Africa looked to put the match to bed early. “They have a lot of match-winners on their team”, said De Villiers ahead of the clash. In stark contrast, just 22 runs were scored from 32 balls before a decisive eighteenth over from Tahir that saw the wickets of both Dinesh Chandimal and Chamara Kapugedera fall.

Sri Lanka vice-captain Tharanga confirmed a fitness test on Friday afternoon will not determine for sure whether Mathews plays.

Later, following the introduction of spinner Seekuge Prasanna and medium pacer Asela Gunaratne, South Africa got some leeway, with Sri Lanka spreading the outfield.

The Sri Lankas were ruled to be four overs short of their target after time allowances were taken into consideration. Tharanga pleaded guilty, so there was no formal hearing.

He will miss the matches against India on 8 June and Pakistan four days later, while each of his players were fined 60 per cent of their match fee.

“Sri Lanka always play well in these tournaments”.

“He is very keen to return to ODI cricket and we are looking forward to him performing again”. De Villiers and de Kock are showstoppers, whose range of strokes are more emphatic than Amla’s. Vice-captain Upul Tharanga is the likeliest candidate to lead the team. “We’re well aware of that, and they deserve our respect”.