Published: Jan 26, 2017, 01:35 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 26, 2017, 01:54 AM (IST)
Imran Tahir’s brilliant spell went in vain: first Niroshan Dickwella smashed a brilliant fifty, and just when it seemed South Africa might seal it, a late cameo from Seekkuge Prasanna handed Sri Lanka a 5-wicket win over South Africa in the third T20I Newlands, Cape Town. The win also gave Sri Lanka the three-match series 2-1. Upul Tharanga and Dickwella got Sri Lanka off to a good start putting on 36 in the first 4 overs. Tharanga dominated the partnership with an 11-ball 20. Then Wayne Parnell struck off his very first delivery to remove Tharanga. Dickwella took over from there, treating every bowler with disdain. Imran Tahir broke through, dismissing skipper Dinesh Chandimal with his first ball, but Dickwella found an ally in Dhananjaya de Silva. Full Cricket Scorecard: South Africa vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I at Cape Town
Sri Lanka scored 48 from the Powerplay overs. However, the seventh over of the innings provided quite some entertainment. As many as three catches were dropped in as many deliveries in that over, one of them by Parnell off his own bowling. Sri Lanka kept accelerating, and brought up their 100 in the 13th over. They looked well on course to a win. But there was a twist in the tale when Tahir removed Dickwella for 68 off 51 in the 16th over after Andile Phehlukwayo had conceded just 2 runs off the previous over. Tahir struck again three balls later when Dhananjaya went for an almighty heave and was stumped. At that stage Sri Lanka needed 52 from 25 balls with 6 wickets in hand. Tahir eventually finished with figures of 3 for 18 in his 4 overs. Full Cricket Updates: South Africa vs Sri Lanka 3rd T20I at Cape Town
But Seekkuge Prasanna came out with a mission. 19 runs came off the 17th over from Parnell as Prasanna exploded in an array of conventional and innovative strokes. The target came down to 33 from 18 deliveries. The next two overs went for 7 and 15, leaving Sri Lanka to score 11 from the final over.
Asela Gunaratne got the runs with one ball to spare, much to the delight of his teammates — though not after he miscalculated the target and uprooted the stumps in celebration with still a run left.
South Africa had earlier scored 169 for 5, courtesy of a 44-ball 63 from AB de Villiers on his return to international cricket. Reeza Hendricks scored a useful 41. The Sri Lankan bowlers bowled well. Prasanna and Lakshan Sandakan were the pick of the bowlers, picking up a wicket apiece at good economy rate.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 169 for 5 in 20 overs (Reeza Hendricks 41, AB de Villiers 63; Seekkuge Prasanna 1 for 21, Lakshan Sandakan 1 for 23) lost to Sri Lanka 170 for 5 in 19.5 overs (Niroshan Dickwella 68, Seekkuge Prasanna 37*; Wayne Parnell 1 for 42, Imran Tahir 3 for 18) by 6 wickets with 1 ball to spare.
Man of the Match: Niroshan Dickwella.
Man of the Series: Niroshan Dickwella.
