Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 3rd T20I at Hambantota, , Aug 06 2013 - Match Result

So South Africa are unable to complete the 3-0 series whitewash, as Dilshan, and Jayawardene before him, simply batted them out of today's contest with a wonderful display of hitting all over the wicket. The South Africans will still be pleased with their performance over the last week, and can take heart from it after being drubbed 4-1 in the ODI series before

Hifaz: "Dilshan has the capacity to end the game fluently"

Janaka: "Thank God Thirimanne didnt bat today. Sri Lanka cannot let both Chandimal and Thirimanne bat and win !"

Tsotsobe, Morkel and Parnell were hit all over the park, while Tahir and Wise bowled strong spells which helped the South Africans back into the contest, when it seemed only a matter of which over the Sri Lankans would finish off the game. Please do stick around just a bit longer for the match presentation.

sanjaya: "Chandimal, Thirimanne and Mathews all are not T20 Players, they are ODI and Test Players, they are laggers. try new players, like Dilshan Munaweera and Akhila Dananjaya, Bhanuka, etc FInally due to some beatiful hitting by Iron man Perera and superb batting by dili and Mayya, SL wins.Thanks All of you!!"

Vigi: "What a shot to play against Morkel. Swept him for six!! In Dilly we believe!"

Time for the match presentation

And Tillakaratne Dilshan wins Man of the Match!

Tillakaratne Dilshan: It's not an easy target to chase. We had to take our chances for six overs. Mahela and I had the best start in the series. We gave a fantastic start and momentum. I know I had to play dilscoop so it got bowlers thinking about how to bowl. It has worked for me last few years so I wanted them to think twice before bowling to me. We knew we could pass this total, especially after our start in the first six overs. I didn't panic, I know Tahir bowled well so I couldn't take a chance with him, but with the other bowlers it was a difficult pitch to bowl on, so I could take my chances

Dinesh Chandimal: I am really happy. Guys did really well. Especially the bowling part as we kept them to 160. Mahela and Dilshan batted really well to give us a good start, and then Thisara playing a cameo to help us get there in the end. In previous games we didn't bat well which is why we lost the game. But in this game we batted well so we are feeling good. They (SA) played some really good cricket throughout this series. They gave us a lot of good challenges.

And JP Duminy is Man of the Series with his 135 runs and 3 wickets

JP Duminy: Yes it's been going pretty well. i wasn't really needed to bowl in these last two games. It's unfortunate the Sri Lankans came out firing today. Been working hard on the nets, trying not to over hit the ball as the bats are really big today and just need to time it well. Really enjoyed playing in Sri Lanka, and happy to have won a series here

Faf du Plessis: That's a big trophy to take back on the plane. All in all we are really happy to beat the best team in the world. I thought 163 was enough, got to give credit to Dilshan. Our plans were not as good in this game as in the other two games. Happy to beat the best in the world, the World Cup is not too far away and we did it in conditions that are similar to Bangladesh. Thanks to the crowd for their support.

So although South Africa lost today, and were unable to complete a whitewash, they will be happy to not only have competed, but beaten Sri Lanka, the world's number one ranked T20 team, in their home conditions. Dilshan played a blinder of an innings, but if you are a Sri Lankan fan, you will certainly feel it was all a little too late. Thank you for choosing ESPNcricinfo as your destination to get up-to-the-minute scores and news. It has been a pleasure to take you through Sri Lanka's innings. For now, this is Rohan Sharma saying good night and good luck!

27 now off 18 balls. South Africa have done well to come back into this contest

Parnell has been brought back into the attack

Faf taking his time to get his fielders in the right position. Duminy at long on. Davids in the deep

James: "Great spells form Wiese and Tahir have dragged SA back into this game."

Aman SM: "Not watching the match,but going by the cricinfo profie, has South Africa found the solution to their problem in David Wiese,the moustache man"

SL need 38 off 24balls now.. Looks set up for a gripping finale

nitin: "Dilshan is still the key for both SL and SA."

Morkel replacing Tahir

Thisara Perera is the new bat for Sri Lanka. Time for some power hitting perhaps?

Mehtab: "Can someone tell me where is Duminy tonight?"

Saul: "Gotta wonder what Faf was thinking bowling all 4 of Lopsy's overs. Maybe he wanted to keep him away from fielding, so he wouldn't drop any more catches?"

Into the final five overs... SL need 46 off 30