Sri Lanka draw first blood with 14-run win

• Sri Lanka’s Avishka Fernando celebrates after scoring a century during the first one-day international (ODI) cricket match between Sri Lanka and South Africa at the 

R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo

By Shehan Daniel at the R. Premadasa Stadium

Sri Lanka eked out a 14-run win against South Africa yesterday but not before having to contend with half-centuries from Aiden Markram and Rassie Van Der Dussen. South Africa would have recorded the highest successful run chase at the R. Premadasa had they reached the 301-run target that was set by the hosts thanks to Avishka Fernando’s third ODI century and an excellent Charith Asalanka half-century. 

As challenging as the task appeared, for as long as Markram was at the crease the South Africans found themselves abreast with the required run rate, the opener fluently playing against Sri Lanka’s four-man spin attack. 

He reached his half-century in just 49 balls, getting to that milestone with a flat-batted six straight over bowler Dasun Shanaka’s head, adding a third six soon after off the bowling of Akila Dananjaya. Markram looked on course to outscore Fernando but a miscued slice flew to deep cover point, where Wanindu Hasaranga ran in to complete a difficult catch.  

His dismissal with the visitors still requiring 135 runs to win swung the game in Sri Lanka’s favour, but there was no closure for the hosts till Van Der Dussen was removed late in the innings. 

With 91 needed off the last ten overs, the busy and creative Van Der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen kept the South Africans in the game, the former proving particularly resistive with a 49-ball half-century. Van Der Dussen survived a leg before appeal on 55, missing a reverse sweep and benefitting from an umpires call when Sri Lanka asked for a review. Ultimately though it didn’t prove decisive, with a similar attempted reverse sweep resulting in Dananjaya bowling Van Der Dussen around the legs for 59. 

South Africa were also hampered by an injury to captain Temba Bavuma who retired hurt shortly after being struck on the hand by a throw from Hasaranga and though he was bandaged and deemed able, did not return to bat. 
Having been dropped earlier this year over fitness concerns it was a return to his best for Fernando – and maybe better than he’s ever been – with a third consecutive scores of 50 or more runs. 

Yesterday’s century showed his nous to read the game and change gears when necessary, with no unnecessary aggression, no risky streaks, just a willingness to build a platform from which the hosts could capitalize later into the innings. 

Fernando struck three boundaries for 16 runs in the first his 17 deliveries but slowed down to a gear or two between then and when he reached his half century 57 balls later – the 73 deliveries he used possibly the most he’s ever taken to get to fifty. 

From there it took the right-handed opener just 31 deliveries to get to triple figures, a sudden change in gears evident from the moment a whip of the wrists sent the ball over the deep backward square leg boundary, moving him on to 68 off 88 deliveries.   

Anti-climatically, he reached that landmark with a single, but stuck three more boundaries, to take his innings count to 10 along with two sixes, before he was caught at short third man on 118 attempting to keep up the aggression.  
For all the talk around how Sri Lanka would fare against the express pace of Kagiso Rabada and Andrich Nortje, it was the hosts’ nonchalance against spin that resulted in their early losses. 

Fernando and Minod Bhanuka took 41 runs off the first six overs, 33 of which came off Rabada’s three opening overs, but after which the introduction of spin slowed the scoring and yielded a total of 50 runs in the first power play. 

Having built pressure, it didn’t take long for the South Africans to see their first reward, when Bhanuka’s hapless slog sweep to the part-time spin of Aiden Markram completely missed the ball, bowling him out for 27. 

A lazy flick from Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the next over found the fielder at the deep mid-wicket boundary, giving leg spinner Keshav Maharaj his first wicket, as Sri Lanka slipped to 58 for 2. 

Sri Lanka recovered through a third wicket stand of 79 between Fernando and Dhananjaya de Silva, a partnership built on consolidation rather than attack, consuming 108 deliveries.

 
Asalanka and Fernando then partnered for what proved to be the biggest partnership of the innings, a 71-ball stand that produced 97 runs, with the latter doing the bulk of the scoring accounting for 61 runs. 

Charith Asalanka strengthened his growing stock with a second career half-century off 51 deliveries, that included a six over the deep fine leg boundary that went all of 96 metres and landed in the second-tier stand. 

He was dismissed for 72, with Sri Lanka within sight of the 300-run mark, which they would just about reach on the final ball of the innings.