Cape Town: South Africa handed a 5-0 whitewash to Sri Lanka as they won the fifth ODI owing to a floodlight failure at Newlands on Saturday.
The visitors posted a target of 226 runs and the Proteas managed to score 135 for two after 28 overs before the floodlight failure halted the final ODI, bringing DLS method into play and the hosts won the match by 41 runs.
Kusal Mendis looked in control and was the top scorer for Sri Lanka as he scored 56 runs to help the visitors put up a respectable total. However, his dismissal sparked a succession of wickets as Sri Lanka crumbled.Sri Lanka was able to get Quinton de Kock’s wicket early, breaking the wicket-keeper batsman’s run of five consecutive fifty-plus scores in this series.
Then came in South Africa captain Faf du Plessis who formed a partnership of 70 runs with Aiden Markram. Du Plessis later lost his wicket to Thisara Perera, which brought Rassie van der Dussen to the field.The duo played well until the match was stopped due to the failure of floodlights. Markram scored his career-best 67 not out and won the man of the match title.Since the 2015 World Cup, this is Sri Lanka’s fourth 0-5 loss in a bilateral series.
Lasith Malinga-led side will take on the Proteas for their first T20I at the Newlands Cricket Ground on March 19. South Africa have named uncapped trio Aiden Markram, Anrich Nortje and Sinethemba Qeshile in their T20I squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, commencing here on Tuesday.
Markram and Nortje come in having impressed in the recent ODI series in which the Proteas comfortably won 5-0, and they will be looking to take that momentum into the game’s shortest format, while 20-year old Qeshile is in line to make his full international bow. Nortje has been a key bowler for South Africa since making his ODI debut on this tour, notching eight wickets from his four matches at an impressive 18.75. Twenty four-year old Markram returned to the fray in the fourth bout, scoring a career-best 67 not out in the fifth.
His late surge in form could cause a selection headache for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, as this T20I series marks South Africa’s last competitive sequence of matches before this summer’s tournament. Qeshile is the newest face in the South African ranks, and the promising young batsman comes in on the back of some accomplished domestic performances.
He boasts an impressive average of 48.11 in first-class cricket, while his List A record is also favourable- one hundred and three half-centuries at 41.22 from just 12 games. Cricket South Africa (CSA) National Selection Panel convener Linda Zondi spoke in praise of Qeshile upon announcement of the squad, while also heralding the latest set of players to have broken through into the T20I side.
“Sinethemba Qeshile has had an outstanding rookie season of franchise cricket and is certainly one of the form batsmen in franchise cricket at the moment. He looks a really exciting prospect,” Zondi said.”We have used our T20 International matches in the past as the first port of call to widen the pool of talent. This has resulted in Rassie van der Dussen, Gihahn Cloete, Janneman Malan and Lutho Sipamla being brought through the pipeline.” he said. (Agencies)
