Hendricks, Duminy seal series 3-0

By Madushka Balasuriya

Dhananjaya De Silva may have played himself into a permanent slot in Sri Lanka’s limited overs side with his 66-ball 84, but it wasn’t enough to stop Sri Lanka from falling to a second consecutive home ODI series defeat, after South Africa registered a 78-run win in Kandy last evening, and with it an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

South Africa’s win was built primarily around a century from debutant Reeza Hendricks, as well as another front-foot display from J.P. Duminy, while Lungi Ngidi and Andile Pheluhkwayo were again impressive with the ball picking up three wickets apiece. There were also important knocks from Hashim Amla and David Miller for the visitors.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews might well regret having given South Africa first lease on a wicket that was unquestionably the most batsman-friendly all series. Mathews said his decision was based on the fact that it was difficult to gauge the par score on such a good batting surface, speculating one of 275 or higher, and as such he’d prefer to chase.

In any event South Africa far surpassed that - and by a fair distance too - in an innings which was as controlled in its aggression as it was belligerent at the death, with 363 runs amassed in 50 overs. The groundwork for that total was laid by Hendricks who, having been drafted in for the rested Aiden Markram, provided an assured display which lay the ideal platform for South Africa’s late stage assault.

But his was not an innings of posturing and overt dominance, rather it was one of understated yet supreme control. On a surface where it would have been easy to get carried away, coming in at one-drop, Hendricks was never rushed, always eager to rotate the strike, and ensured continuity in the scoring rate, with the Sri Lankan bowlers never allowed a foothold in the game; Hendricks was essentially the facilitator, enabling those around him to thrive.

Of course he was only afforded this role due to the efficiency in stroke-making of the rest of the South African top order. It was Amla who set the tone early, taking Lahiru Kumara to task in his opening spell. The fast bowler’s extra pace was expertly commandeered by the South African opener, from weapon to weakness, on a wicket where the ball was coming on to the bat with ease.

Amla plundered the 21-year-old, who was playing with stitches in his left hand following a split webbing, for six boundaries in his first three overs, including three in a row to the square leg and cover boundaries.

Amla would eventually be dismissed - twice - by Thisara Perera; the first, LBW, to one darting back in from outside off stump, only to be overturned on review, before virtually the same delivery a ball later would miss the pads altogether and rattle middle stump.

Hendricks however would continue on his run-accumulating way. Having put on a 59-run partnership with Amla, he would then muster a further 36 with Du Plessis, before the captain holed out at midwicket to give Thisara his second wicket.

However, it was with Duminy that Hendricks would put on the partnership that would take the game away from the Sri Lankans. Coming together at 137/3 in the 23rd over, the pair put on 78 at little over run a ball. It was a key period in the game in which Sri Lanka would have been hoping to throttle the scoring rate, but the ability of both Hendricks and Duminy to find space square either side of the wicket meant the South African runrate scarcely dropped below 6.

By the time Hendricks was dismissed - Kumara finally getting reward for his perseverance, beating the batsman all ends up with one that jagged back in off the seam to clip a solitary bail - South Africa had added a further 173 runs for the loss of three wickets at a run rate of nearly 6.5 an over. And Hendricks had scored 102 of those, of which 38 came in boundaries, becoming just the third South African to score a century on debut.

However, Hendricks’ dismissal brought little respite to Sri Lanka’s ailing contingent of bowlers, as it allowed David Miller - who had been subpar in the series up to this point - the ideal platform to play himself in before a late offensive. And he duly obliged.

Miller and Duminy racked up 102 runs in just 71 deliveries, and while Miller would go on to notch up his 11th ODI fifty - with a few trademark lofty hits in-between - it was Duminy this time that shifted gears to devastating effect.

Having meandered to 50 off 51 balls, he then upped the ante in grand style against Akila Dananjaya, slog sweeping and reverse sweeping the spinner for six and then four off consecutive deliveries. Duminy though would save his best for Lakmal. Having been handed the strike by Miller off the first ball of the 46th over, Duminy would take Lakmal for 22 runs off the next five deliveries, with back-to-back fours followed by back-to-back sixes.

And though Duminy would find deep midwicket the very next over to give Thisara his third scalp of the match, South Africa weren’t done just yet. A few more lusty hits from Miller and a late 11-ball 23-run cameo from Phehlukwayo would see the visitors plunder 71 runs off the last five overs - 114 in the last 10 overs - to record the fifth highest ODI total on Sri Lankan soil.

For Sri Lanka in their chase it was a similar story to the first two games, where a combination of smart bowling and poor shot selection accounted for a majority of their wickets. Sri Lanka also showed that they had taken all the wrong lessons from the South African innings.

While both sides scored roughly half their runs in boundaries, it was in strike rotation that South Africa really kept the pressure on Sri Lanka’s bowlers. The Sri Lankan batsmen in contrast were time after time caught out looking for boundaries where there weren’t any.

Dickwella was his trademark self getting his first boundary on the up through cover off Ngidi, however, that shot would prove to be his demise as Du Plessis having spotted his tendency to drive the ball in the air put himself at short extra cover - after which Dickwella duly obliged in driving a catch straight to the man just put in.

Meanwhile, Tharanga was caught out by some extra pace from an Ngidi short ball, which the left-hander only managed to pull to square leg.

Kusal’s Mendis and Perera then put on a short but exciting 26-run partnership, with both looking in good touch, however their alliance was cut short when Phehlukwayo got one to nip back into Perera and trap him LBW.

New man in Thisara too got himself in with a 14-ball 16 before getting a faint nick on one going down the leg side. 

At 81/4 in the 12th over Sri Lanka were clearly up with the required rate, with the wickets column where the problems lay. Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis looked to consolidate putting on 43 for the fifth wicket, before another short ball from Ngidi got Mendis into attempting an ill-advised pull only to be caught at square leg.

Mathews and De Silva, as the last recognised pair, would put on a further 31 runs before Mathews would be given out LBW going for one sweep too many times against Tabraiz Shamsi.

At 155/6 in the 27th over Sri Lanka’s hopes were well and truly extinguished, before a 95-run stand between De Silva and Dananjaya gave Sri Lanka a faint glimmer of hope.

During this period De Silva’s shot selection was exquisite. Unafraid to rotate the strike when necessary, he was also astute in picking his moment for the big shots, memorably taking Shamsi for three consecutive boundaries all around the wicket. His best though was reserved for Phelukwayo, whose slower ball was pulled for six to the midwicket fence and then two deliveries later a second slower ball lofted over cover for a second maximum.

However, Phelukwayo would have the last laugh, as De Silva to get a faint bottom edge through to the keeper the very next ball.

Once he fell the rest followed in due course as South Africa registered their 11th straight win over Sri Lanka, and left the hosts wondering what might have been.