 Even the best psychologists in the world would be at odds to help the Sri Lankan
players come out of the shock they must be under right now. South Africa on the
contrary must be wondering what bigger targets to look for in the upcoming matches.
The two sides clash again in the second ODI on Saturday in East London.
There probably aren't enough words in the dictionary to describe the manner
of abject defeat that Sri Lanka suffered in the first ODI.
Click for Live Score Card of South Africa Vs Sri Lanka
Only in statistics would one get tired of the damage inflicted, let alone explain
qualitatively the humiliation caused by the defeat. The entire team folded for
43 runs - a total that was individually bettered by three opposing batsmen.
With one batsman in double figures, there really can be no excuses for the collective
failure. The batsmen will need to lift their game - mentally more so than ability-wise
- to post any reasonable challenge to South Africa.
Captain Tillakaratne Dilshan's woes continue, with bat as well as captaincy,
as Sri Lanka ebbed to their largest ODI defeat. Also worthy of improvement is
their bowling that conceded 300+ runs with ease. Lasith Malinga will
again be expected to spearhead the attack and hope for a better run from their
batsmen.
South Africa on the other hand could not have done more things right. Hashim Amla continued his sublime form to score another classy century. Captain
AB De Villiers could not have asked for a better start to his captaincy career,
quite contrasting with his counterpart's record. Jacques Kallis and AB De Villiers
struck half-centuries while Graeme Smith will be hoping to be back amongst
the runs now that the captaincy burden is off him. The bowlers will again be
looking to party on the poor Sri Lankan batsmen, peppering them with a combination
of hostile short-pitched and full-length deliveries.
The day match at Buffalo Park will be the first ODI here in three years. The
last time South Africa lost a match here was way back in 1999.
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