South Africa beat Sri lanka in final Super 10 match by eight wickets with 14 balls to spare
Contrasting emotions ran through South African fans as their women's team lost against Sri lanka in the evening in Chennai, but the Proteas men's counterpart outfoxed the same opponent without much fuss at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in front of more than 16,000 enthusiastic cricket fans on Monday.
After winning the toss, South African captain Faf du Plessis elected to bowl first and his decision to do so paid off as Proteas restricted Sri lanka to mere score line of 120. Chasing 120, South Africa had no difficulty as Hashim Amla's brilliant 50, along with crowd favourite AB de Villiers quick fire 14 not out made sure the team finished the tournament on a high.
Quinton de Kock was first one to go back to pavilion after he was run out by Tillakaratne Dilshan following Hashim Amla's call. Next to go for Proteas was their skipper who was trapped before by Suranga lakmal. However, in the television replay showed that the ball had clearly touched the bat and then went on to hit the pads. There was no protest from the Proteas captain when he saw the umpire's finger go up as he walked back to the pavilion.
But as soon as Faf du Plessis was adjudged out, there was a huge applause and cheer from the crowd. It was not for Faf's superb innings but it was for the next batsman who was coming in. Chants of 'AB AB AB' were echoing in the stadium and as soon as he entered the field, de Villiers received a standing ovation from the crowd and the fan favourite reciprocated the gesture by waiving to those singing his name in the stands.
AB's and Amla's 47-run partnership helped the team to emerge as winner of this dead rubber contest. It was AB de Villiers' massive six over the mid-wicket area which sealed the deal for the Proteas team.
Faf du Plessis opted to chase in South Africa's final match of the World T20, which they will play with Dale Steyn in the XI. South Africa made two other changes. Farhaan Behardien made his first appearance in the tournament in place of Rilee Rossouw, while Chris Morris, who had some back stiffness, was left out for Kyle Abbott.
Earlier, Sri lanka started off the innings in some style with Dinesh Chandimal and Tillakaratne Dilshan scoring quickfire 45 runs in just three overs. It was Aaron Phangiso who broke the deadlock for the South African team when he clean bowled Dinesh Chandimal (21) who was in superb form.
It was not long when lahiru Thirimanne joined Chandimal in the dugout. Phangiso then bowled a superb delivery when he bowled Thirimanne. The Islander nation was left reeling at 45/2. However, there was some delight for the fans that had come to witness the match. Dilshan with his famous 'Dilscoop' shot and reverse sweep gave the crowd something to cheer for. Dilshan and Milinda Siriwardana (15) tried to bring the lankan innings back on track with a 30-run partnership. But South Africa wrested back the advantage when a superb piece of fielding by Faf du Plessis caught Siriwardana short of his crease.
By the time Dilshan was trapped leg-before while attempting a sweep off Behardien, Sri lanka were in trouble at 85/5. Dasun Shanaka remained unbeaten on 20 off 18 balls, but the rest of the lankan tail enders were unable to hold their own against the Proteas bowlers.
For South Africa, spinner Phangiso and seamer Kyle Abbott were the pick of the bowlers who gave the lankan batsman hard time finding runs and boundaries for that matter of fact. Sri lanka and South Africa are already knocked out of the ICC WT20 tournament. The two teams are fighting for pride and are looking to end their campaign on a high note and making a statement.
Brief Scores
Sri lanka: 120 (Tillakaratne Dilshan 36; Farhaan Behardien 2/15; Kyle Abbott 2/14, Aaron Phangiso 2/26, Dale Steyn 1/33) lose to South Africa: 122/2 (Hashim Amla 55 not out, AB de Villiers 14, Faf du Plessis 31, Quinton de Kock 9) by eight wickets.