this is a mistimed hoick, McLaren gets under a swirler and South Africa take the first game in convincing fashion. Steyn goes short and Mendis backs away to try and smoke it out of the park but has fell way off the mark
Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 1st ODI at Colombo, Jul 06 2014 - Ball by Ball Commentary
RESULT
1st ODI, Colombo (RPS), July 06, 2014, South Africa tour of Sri Lanka
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6.00 pm That's all we have for you. Do join us for the second ODI when South Africa will plan to wrap up a historic maiden series triumph in his country and Sri Lanka will be priming their claws for a comeback. Its bound to be a cracker and we hope to have your company again on Wednesday. That will be a Day-night affair, mind you. So until then, this is Alagappan Muthu going quiet
Daniel Alexande: "Sri Lanka should appoint Amla as SL vice-captain, that's the only way to stop him scoring "
Hashim Amla is the Man of the Match for his 13th ton in ODI cricket. "Obviously it was a good wicket to bat on, I know we managed to bowl Sri Lanka for 240 but the game went right to the 40th over./ The pitch eased out a little bit, but also the bowlers bowled really well. AB got away in our partnership and allowed me to play my game. It was a little slow, but it stayed the same throughout the game and that's fair. No, I dont think so. Obviously when the Tests start I'll put the thinking cap on, now I'm just concentrating on help AB out in the ODIs"
"Hopefully on our way, Certainly not there yet. Sri Lanka are a very goot team at home," says AB de Villiers. "We fought really well and really proud of our first innings here. I wasn;t too happy with my dismissal. I'm not going to go easy with myself. I thought the guys recovered really well. McLaren and Miller showed what this team was bout in the end. Its always a concern when Sanga walks out and Dilshan also played really well. We have to come out with some answers like we did today. We are very motivated to win our first series here, things have started really well and we'll have to go really hard in the next few games,"
5.55 pm "We had a bad day at the office. South Africans played better cricket and we were rusty," says Angelo Mathews. "After the start we got, the middle order made some poor shots selection and that cost us the game. If we'd held onto our catches, it would have been different. It was a very good wicket and the margin of error was very small. We bowed 45 overs very well. We are definitely under pressure but its pretty simple, we have to pull our socs up and win,"
South Africa had to come from behind a few times in this game. First when they lost a couple of top-order wickets together and AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla strung together a very business-like partnership. And then while bowling, Sri Lanka had got off to a rapid start and Kumar Sangakkara was batting like a dream again. But Imran Tahir, after being smacked around, and Ryan McClaren with some canny change of pace secured a well-fought victory for the visitors
5.40 pm Considering the top order's performance, Sri Lanka would feel very aggrieved with his result. But South Africa have said all along - they've learned their lessons, they have a better side this time and they were looking at Tahir as an attacking option. All of those claims came to pass today as they secured only their third win in 17 ODIs against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka
tAHIR: "5 wickets in 4 overs .. i was expecting that it ll go to 49, 50 .. but just 40.3 SL wts going on ???"
40.3
W
Steyn to Mendis, OUT
Ajantha Mendis c McLaren b Steyn 0 (7b 0x4 0x6 11m) SR: 0
40.2
•
Steyn to Mendis, no run
goes for the yorker, but it is just a little too full and outside off. Mendis sets up for a swipe over cover and is beaten
40.1
•
Steyn to Mendis, no run
shortish and outside off, Malinga backs away to flat bat it down the ground. Mistimed
Steyn takes aim at the last wicket needed for South Africa
end of over 406 runs • 1 wicket
SL: 229/9CRR: 5.72 • RRR: 7.60
Lasith Malinga6 (4b 1x6)
Ajantha Mendis0 (4b)
Imran Tahir 7-0-50-3
Dale Steyn 7-0-38-1
39.6
•
Tahir to Malinga, no run
another wrong 'un, quick and flat, and Malinga seems to have picked it as he pulls to midwicket
39.5
•
Tahir to Malinga, no run
sneaks in a quicker delivery and Malinga, who was down the pitch, manages to skew it to backward point
39.4
6
Tahir to Malinga, SIX runs
this one is into orbit. Uses his feet and launches this over long-on to bring up the first six of Sri Lanka's innings
39.3
•
Tahir to Malinga, no run
comes down the track which makes Tahir shorten the length of his googly. Malinga bunts it down to the bowler
Some of the crowd are trying to beat the Colombo traffic by leaving early
jitu: "Plz bring tisara next match....... " Malinga is the last man in
39.2
W
Tahir to Senanayake, OUT
how bout that, the stumps are rattled and its the googly again! Senanayake pushed at the ball gingerly, he did not pick it at all and has to walk back
Sachithra Senanayake b Imran Tahir 6 (5b 1x4 0x6 9m) SR: 120
39.1
•
Tahir to Senanayake, no run
goes for the googly and this skids onto him and raps him on the pads. He was rooted to the crease while going for a flick, might have drifted down leg which is why the the umpire says no and AB declines to review
Imran Tahir, the man who turned this match around with one little wicket, comes back
end of over 391 run • 1 wicket
SL: 223/8CRR: 5.71 • RRR: 7.45
Ajantha Mendis0 (4b)
Sachithra Senanayake6 (3b 1x4)
Dale Steyn 7-0-38-1
Ryan McLaren 6-0-33-2
38.6
•
Steyn to Mendis, no run
how did that miss the off stump? It was a good length ball and Mendis continues on his merry way backing away and going for the loft over the off side. Misses comprehensively again
neil: "slow over rate won't matter if they bowl them all out, which is looking more and more likely." Exactly what we were discussing here in office
shihan: "@Jan: Sanga had to play a rash shot because what Thirimanne did earlier..DL par score got to Sanga with the fall of Thiri."
38.5
•
Steyn to Mendis, no run
deceives him with a lovely slower ball, too good for Mendis as he looks to launch it down the ground. Doesn't connect
38.4
•
Steyn to Mendis, no run
that's a menacing bouncer to the tailender who manages to duck under it. Right over off stump there
38.3
•
Steyn to Mendis, no run
straight away comes down the track and misses the wild waft outside off
Ajanthan Mendis is at No. 10. Sri Lanka have lost three wickets in the batting powerplay
38.2
W
Steyn to Kulasekara, OUT
off you go, says Styen as Kulasekara goes for a dab to third man and chops a short ball well outside off onto his stumps. The crowd in Colombo is stunned
Nuwan Kulasekara b Steyn 1 (3b 0x4 0x6 6m) SR: 33.33
Nathan: "13 overs to go with less than 30 minutes of play left. Why was the delay. Slow over rate?" Will happen with a four man pace attack
38.1
1
Steyn to Senanayake, 1 run
enough width for Senanayake to slice it behind point. Steyn ventured a little fuller than his traditional back of a length
end of over 386 runs • 2 wickets
SL: 222/7CRR: 5.84 • RRR: 6.91
Nuwan Kulasekara1 (2b)
Sachithra Senanayake5 (2b 1x4)
Ryan McLaren 6-0-33-2
Dale Steyn 6-0-37-0
Jan: "after seeing Sangakkara's reaction of the the Thirimanne dismissal, how would he react to his own silly shot?"
37.6
•
McLaren to Kulasekara, no run
can't beat slip this time. Kallis dives to his right and does his bit to add further pressure on the hosts. The par score is 254 now. Sri Lanka way behind
37.5
1
McLaren to Senanayake, 1 run
another short ball and Senanayake has steered it nicely to third man again. This time it's just a single
37.4
4
McLaren to Senanayake, FOUR runs
dabbed away past the lone slip to the third man boundary. Deft little stroke there
Sachithra Senanayake is out in the middle now and the par score has ballooned
37.3
W
McLaren to Sangakkara, OUT
this is right off the bottom of the bat, it's a steepler but extra cover has got under it. It was full and just a touch too wide and made him reach for it. Magnificent innings from Sanga, but the demands of Duckworth and Lewis and a resurgent South Africa pace attack get to him
Kumar Sangakkara c sub (F du Plessis) b McLaren 88 (84b 9x4 0x6 144m) SR: 104.76
37.2
1
McLaren to Kulasekara, 1 run
flicked away from off stump for a single to long leg
Kulasekara rushes out to the middle. Touches the turf for some good luck. Du Plessis is chatting with McLaren and Steyn regarding the field and bowling plans
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