First ODI, Lunch
Sri Lanka: 181 all out (Mendis 62, Parnell 3/48, Tahir 3/26)
PORT ELIZABETH - Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir combined in perfect harmony to restrict Sri Lanka to just 181 in the first ODI here at St George’s Park.
Parnell and Tahir claimed three wickets apiece to ensure the visitors posted a below-par score.
Parnell struck with his first ball of the morning after captain AB de Villiers elected to bowl in seam-friendly conditions. Overhead the sky was grey with the odd showers sprucing up a green-tinged wicket even further.
The left-arm seamer used this to his advantage when he rifled an in-swinger bang into the pads of Sri Lankan opening batsman Niroshan Dikwella. Umpire Richard Kettleborough upheld the decision without any hesitation and South Africa were on their way.
Parnell was back in business with the first ball of his next over again. Debutant Sandun Weerakkody flashed hard outside his off stump, only for the ball to fly off the outside edge straight to Hashim Amla at first slip.
After winning the T20 series last Wednesday in Cape Town, it was the worst possible start for the tourists as they slipped to 14/2 in 3.1 overs.
At that stage it seemed the hosts would rip through Sri Lanka, but the impressive Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal knuckled down and applied a great amount of restraint and patience to ensure the visitors would not lose any further wickets until only after the drinks interval.
This was the most productive period for Sri Lanka with the duo sharing a 71-run partnership for the third wicket until Tahir was brought on to weave his magic.
Like he has done countless times for South Africa in limited-overs cricket – both in ODI’s and T20 – the leg-spinner put the brakes on the opposition’s innings with a crucial breakthrough. On this occasion, Tahir delivered one of his trademark googlies that spun out of the rough through bat and pad and Chandimal could only look on as the ball thundered into his stumps.
But this was only the beginning for Tahir. He delivered the killer blow later when he hauled out another one of his tricks from that magic box of his. Instead of the googly, Tahir opted for the top-spinner now which caught Mendis unawares and the ball hit plumb in front.
Mendis would have been devastated to lose his wicket in this manner as he had just brought up his half-century and was integral to Sri Lanka posting a respectable total.
The importance of Mendis’s dismissal for 62 off 94 balls became apparent shortly afterwards when stand-in captain Upul Tharanga drove Tahir straight to JP Duminy at short cover.
There was no stopping Tahir’s celebrations now as the strong winds almost blew him into Castle Corner. Sri Lanka had slipped from 86/2 to 102/5 in a matter of moments.
South Africa were not going to allow their visitors to climb out of this almighty hole they dug for themselves and kept the squeeze on throughout with Kagiso Rabada (1/35) and Chris Morris (2/29) all ticking the wickets column.
Coupled with a bizarre run out and Parnell returning to pick his third scalp of the innings, it allowed South Africa to bowl out the Sri Lankans before their allotted 50 overs had been completed.