Sri Lanka vs South Africa, One-off T20I: Key moments of the game

Sri Lanka had crushed the visitors in the Test series but they made a great comeback to bag the ODI series, which is why spectators were looking to this match with a lot of excitement. Everyone was eager to see the climax of this one-month long tour, full of twists and turns. As it happened, it was the Sri Lankans who continued their upswing in the limited-overs leg of the series. South Africa got bowled out for their lowest T20I score and Sri Lanka managed to chase down it, ending the series on a high note.

Here, in this article, we will take a look at the key moments of the match.

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South Africa Innings:

Amla's early departure

South Africa's captain JP Duminy won the toss and opted to bat first. Quinton de Kock started the procedures promisingly when he hit three boundaries off the opening over. However, it was clear what was about to happen in the next over.

Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews introduced the spin attack from the other end and de Silva delivered on his fifth ball. Amla gave a catching practice to the fielder at cover for a four-ball duck, his second in succession and third on the tour.

Sandakan's triple-wicket maiden

Wickets kept falling as the innings further progressed. Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendriks and the skipper JP Duminy got out in regular intervals and SA were 69 for 4 after 10. The onus was on David Miller and Henrich Klassen who were still out there in the middle. However, Lakshan Sandakan, in his third over, wrecked havoc on the opponents and took away any chances of reviving the South African innings, if it was there.

He dismissed Henrich Klassen on the very first ball of this over when he was caught by Kusal Mendis at point. He further dismissed Andile Phehlukwayo and Kagiso Rabada in the same over to register a triple-wicket maiden. Visitors were reduced to 73 for 7.

Innings wrap up

At 7/73, David Miller only had the tail to work with. He tried to take chances and ended up becoming Dananjaya's second scalp. Sri Lankan pacers, already motivated by the work of their spinners, wrapped up the innings for 98. Kasun Rajitha dismissed Lungi Ngidi and Isuru Udana got rid of Tabraiz Shamsi at the end.

Sri Lanka Innings:

#Rabada's early strikes

South Africa needed something miraculous from their bowlers to win this match and it seemed like Rabada was up to deliver that kind of performance. He struck twice in the opening over of the Sri Lankan's reply.

First, it was Kusal Perera who got caught by Shamsi at mid-on. Two balls later, Mendis was out lbw on review to an inswinging yorker that would have gone on to hit leg stump. Sri Lanka were 6 for 2 in the first over and maybe there was a slight chance for South Africa as well.

Chandimal-de Silva partnership

After a shaky start, Sri Lanka needed a partnership and the Comeback man Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva came together to provide their team just that. At first, it was de Silva who took the charge of counter-attacking the opposition.

He went on to score 14 runs off Lungi Ngidi's second over which included two fours and a six. Chandimal joined him in the show when he smacked a six and a four off Shamsi. The duo added valuable 53 runs before Junior Dala got rid of de Silva.

Dinesh Chandimal- The Saviour

Chandimal's composed innings of 36* took Sri Lanka past the finish line.

The Chandimal-de Silva partnership had killed South Africa's hope of a comeback, but they didn't give in so soon. Once the partnership was broken, there was a wobble for Sri Lanka as Angelo Mathews (0), Thisara Perera (0) and Akila Dananjaya (2) got out in a quick succession.

At this stage, the match could have gone either way but Chandimal kept his cool and guided his team to a memorable victory. His unbeaten effort ensured a 3-wicket victory for the hosts.