DURBAN – In the end, it was a comfortable second ODI win for the Proteas as they defeated Sri Lanka by 121 runs in Durban on Wednesday night.
A steadfast century by Faf du Plessis, matched by David Miller in his typical blasting nature, allowed the Proteas to post 307, with the fielding from the home side the destroyer in chief during the Sri Lankan chase.
It was definitely a spinners wicket, with Imran Tahir taking 2-26 in 8.5 overs, and even the part time fingerspin of JP Duminy claiming 2-30 in five overs.
A stunning catch by Faf du Plessis to remove opener Niroshan Dickwella set the tone as AB de Villiers soon followed suit with a magnificently well timed catch of his own, running backwards and taking it over his shoulder to remove the captain Upul Tharanga.
It was not only the outfield catching that was particularly sparkling. Quinton de Kock showed his speedy glove work to remove the bails of Dhananjaya de Silva’s stumps off Tahir’s bowling.
JP Duminy was also sharp in the field to run out Asela Gunaratne as wickets fell regularly.
The remaining wickets fell easily as the Sri Lankans tried to relieve some pressure with hefty shots, only to find the eagerly waiting Protea fielders.
Earlier in the day, after being put into bat on a dry and difficult surface, the Proteas needed Du Plessis and Miller to show them that there were indeed runs in a surface that was causing the top order some problems under the baking sun.
Du Plessis was the mainstay of the innings when he joined De Kock in the fourth over, with Hashim Amla departing for 15. Du Plessis seemed to be playing on a different surface as even AB de Villiers was outdone, edging a ball too close to cut to the keeper.
When Miller joined Du Plessis at the crease, the duo consolidated the innings, putting on an impressive 117-run partnership. Du Plessis reached his three figures, but soon departed trying to up the ante.
Miller remained, and took on the responsibility of seeing his team home with a cool head, but with typical Miller brutishness. The former Kingsmead regular notching up his century in the final over, along with a cameo from Chris Morris.
The Proteas now head to the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Saturday for what could be the series clincher.
Scores:
South Africa 307/6 in 50 overs vs Sri Lanka 186 all out in 37.5 overs
Series:
South Africa lead the five-match series 2-0
Remaining matches:
Saturday February 4, Johannesburg (1.30pm)
Tuesday February 7, Cape Town (1.30pm)
Friday February 10, Centurion (1.30pm)