DURHAM: It took a journey all the way to this beautiful, northern-most cricketing venue in England, for South Africa to finally rediscover their spark which was missing all through in the 2019 World Cup so far. Sadly, though, it's now a case of too little, too late for them.
SCORECARD | WORLD CUP SCHEDULE | POINTS TABLEOn Friday at the picturesque Riverside ground in Chester-le-Street, hosting its first match of the tournament, they produced their best with both the bat and the ball to annihilate Sri Lanka by nine wickets. After their bowlers, led by the recalled Dwayne Pretorius (3-25) and all-rounder Chris Morris (3-36) bundled out Sri Lanka for 203 in 49.2 overs, the old firm of skipper
Faf du Plessis (96 not out, 103b, 10x4, 1x6) and
Hashim Amla (80 not out, 105b, 5x4) slammed half-centuries, adding 175* for the second wicket in 202 balls to complete a nine-wicket romp, with 12.4 overs remaining, for their team.
The defeat - 17th in the last 19 games against South Africa for them- severely dents Sri Lanka's chances of progressing in the tournament, even after they had bounced back into contention by upsetting England a week back at Headingley.
Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla take the Proteas home
They are now left standing at seventh spot, with six points in seven games, and must beat both the West Indies, at this same venue on Monday, and India, in the last league match of the tournament on July 6, to entertain any hopes of making it to the semis.
Sri Lanka's loss also means good news for Pakistan, England and Bangladesh, who are all tussling for the two semifinals spots that are up for grabs.
Meanwhile, the consolation win helped the Proteas move over the West Indies to the eighth spot, just above Afghanistan, with five defeats and two wins in eight games. At last, they found some inspiration and spunk to churn out a performance that would ease the pain of their fans.