All-round Sri Lanka Blow Away Insipid South Africa

Colombo: Suranga Lakmal 3-24, Ajantha Mendis 3-36 star with ball while Dilshan (99) as Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 128 runs to clinch the series by 4-1 at the Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday..

A dominant performance from Sri Lanka, sweeping aside South Africa despite bringing in a host of understudies. Caps a terrific series for them, and leaves South Africa with plenty of homework to do.

This 4-1 defeat is South Africa's worst ODI series performance since its 4-0 loss in England (Natwest Series) in August 2008.

The Man of the Match is Tillakaratne Dilshan. Man of the Series is Kumar Sangakkara for scoring 372 runs in the series and 13 dismissels behind the wickets.

Earlier, Tillakaratne Dilshan was bowled for 99 and missed his second straight century of the series Wednesday but helped Sri Lanka score a challenging 307-4.

Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne (68) shared 163 runs for the second wicket after the hosts lost opener Kusal Perera early with the total on 13. Kumar Sangakkara hit a quickfire 75 not out in 45 deliveries.

Dilshan, who made an unbeaten 115 in the fourth match in Pallekele last Sunday, faced 110 deliveries and hit 12 boundaries before being bowled by seamer Ryan McLaren.

Thirimanne was out for 68 including six boundaries and a six during a 93-ball innings.

Earlier, Sri Lanka have won the toss and decided to bat.

Suranga Lakmal, Sachitra Senanayake, Angelo Perera and Kusal Perera came in for the hosts. Phangiso and McLaren came in for South Africa.

Teams:

Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kushal Janith Perera, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Thisara Perera, Angelo Mathews (captain), Angelo Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis

South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Jean-Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers (captain & wk), Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Aaron Phangiso, Morne Morkel, Ryan McLaren, Lonwabo Tsotsobe

Brief scores
Sri Lanka 307/4 (Dilshan 99, Sangakkara 75*, Sangakkara 68)
South Africa 179 (de Villiers 51, Lakmal 3-24, Mendis 3-36)
Result Sri Lanka won by 128 runs
MOM Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka)
Player of the series Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)

Scores	Upcoming	Results
Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan - 3rd ODI 3rd ODI - South Africa v Pakistan - December 22, 12:00 GMT 4th Test - Australia v India - December 26-30, 23:30 GMT 3rd T20I - West Indies v Bangladesh at St Vincent Bangladesh won by 80 runs 2nd ODI - South Africa v Pakistan at Cape Town Pakistan won by 81 runs

Dilshan Powers Sri Lanka to Victory [+]

A superb 74 from Tilakratne Dilshan coupled with cameos from Mahela Jayawardene and Thissara Perera powered Sri Lanka won the final Twenty20 international against South Africa by six wickets in Hambantota on Tuesday to retain their number one ranking in the shortest format.

All-round South Africa Win T20 Series [+]

South Africa bowlers once again proved their worth as they defended 145, beat Sri Lanka by 22 runs in 2nd Twenty20 at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.

Duminy Stars in Low-scoring Thriller [+]

JP Duminy hit a fighting hundred and then returned to pick up 3 wickets as South Africa sneaked through by 12 runs.

All-round Sri Lanka Blow Away Insipid South Africa [+]

Lakmal 3-24, Mendis 3-36 star with ball while Dilshan (99) as Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 128 runs to clinch the series by 4-1 at the Premadasa Stadium on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka Rest Big Guns in Dead Rubber [+]

Having taken an unbeatable 3-1 led in the five-match ODI series against South Africa, Sri Lanka decided to rest the senior troika of Jayawardene, Malinga and Herath from the final match on Wednesday.

All Round Sri Lanka Secure Series [+]

Mendis 4/51 and Malinga 3/52 followed by Dilshan (115*) and Sangakkara (91) helped Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 7 wickets to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match ODI series.

South Africa Stay Alive With Easy Win [+]

Miller (85*) and Tsotsobe (4-22) and Behardien (3-19) did well with the ball to help South Africa defeat Sri Lanka by 56 runs in the 3rd ODI in Pallekele.

Injured Hashim Amla May Miss Sri Lanka ODIs [+]

Hashim Amla is struggling to be fit for the next two one-day internationals in Sri Lanka after suffering a groin strain in Tuesday's defeat by the home side.

Sri Lanka 2-0 up Against South Africa [+]

Rangana Herath took two crucial wickets as Sri Lanka defeated South Africa in the rain-affected one-dayer in Colombo, taking a 2-0 lead in five-match series.

Sangakkara 169 Powers Sri Lanka Win [+]

Sangakkara (169) helps Sri Lanka inflicted a huge 180 run defeat on South Africa at the Premadasa stadium in Colombo on Saturday.