Brian McMillan guided South Africa to a crushing 124-run win over Sri Lanka with a superb all-round performance in the second one-day international on Thursday. After a useful 35 in South Africa's 222-7 in the allotted 50 overs, McMillan took three fine catches and three wickets to help his side bowl out Sri Lanka for a paltry 98 in the last ball of the 34th over. Paceman Fanie de Villiers bowled Pramodya Wickramasinghe to bring South Africa a convincing victory at the floodlit Khettarama Stadium.

However, Hashan Tillekeratne and one-day debutant Pubudu Dasanayake gave the 40,000-strong crowd something to cheer about when they delayed the inevitable with a 32-run eight wicket stand in seven overs. Tillekeratne top-scored with 20 before he fell to de Villiers and became wicket-keeper Dave Richardson's fourth victim in the match.

In a straight five-over spell McMillan finished with 3-12 as Sri Lanka found South Africa's four-pronged pace attack unplay- able on a pitch that offered some life to the seamers. McMillan had fine support from de Villiers (3-15) and Allan Donald who took 2-18. The fourth seamer Richard Snell and off-spinner Pat Symocox took a wicket each. With this win, South Africa avenged their defeat to Sri Lanka in a preliminary round game in the last World Cup and also snatched a 1-0 lead in the current three-match one-day series.

The first match ended without a result due to rain. The final one-dayer will also be a day-night clash at the Khettarama Stadi- um on Saturday. McMillan grabbed three wickets in 19 balls as Sri Lanka lost seven wickets for 36 runs in 13 overs. After the top-order flopped to the menacing pace attack, the 30-year old McMillan drove the final nail by having skipper Arjuna Ranatunga caught by de Villiers for six.

The tourists, who elected to bat after winning the toss, made 222 for 7 in the allotted 50 overs. At one stage South Africa seemed to have set their sights on a bigger total but Sri Lanka fought back with three wickets for 12 runs to curtail the top- order on an excellent batting strip.

After a 90-run opening wicket stand between skipper Kepler Wessels and Andrew Hudson, the tourists crashed to 138 for 4 in the 36th over before Jonty Rhodes and Brian McMillan steadied the innings with a 36-run fifth wicket stand. Rhodes was dimisssed for 43 which included a solitary six off left-arm spinner Sanath Jayasuriya who returned the best figures of 4 for 53. McMillian made 35 off 43 balls. The South Africans would not have bar- gained for some tight fielding by the Sri Lankans in this day- night clash.

But the effort may cost them when they bat as senior batsman Asanka Gurusinha was carried off the field due to a recurring groin injury. He raced to pick up a ball from long off but col- lapsed in pain in the 49th over. Wessels continued to struggle against spin as he fell to Jayasuriya in the 24th over. The left-hander tried to push Jayasuriya through mid-on but the shot carried to covers where Hashan Tillekeratne took a diving catch. Wessels made 28. Sri Lankan skipper and medium pacer Arjuna Ranatunga sent back Hudson in his first over.

Hudson trying to pull the bowler around was superbly held at mid wicket by Roshan Mahanama for 48 inclusive of three boun- daries. Mahanama had a fine day in the field with three catches. Daryll Cullinan then stepped out to drive Jayssuriya, missed and was stumped by wicket-keeper Pubudu Dasanayake who was making his one-day debut for Sri Lanka.

Seamer Pramodya Wickramasinghe struck for Sri Lanka in the first over of his second spell when he had veteran Cook caught behind by Dasanayake for 15. Rhodes and Cook produced 36 runs for the fourth wicket but the veteran was unhappy when umpire T. M. Samarasinghe upheld the appeal. Cook came into the side in place of vice-captain Hansie Cronje who is nursing a back injury. Dasanayake replaced Romesh Kaluwitharne as wicket-keeper in the only change to the Sri Lankan side that played in the first one- day international.

Thanks to vasa

Conditions: Hot and Humid. A little cloudy. Pitch in excellent condition with a little grass. Outfield heavy and slow. During the night a lot of dew fell.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, RSA got off to a wonderful start thanks to some good strokes played by their openers and wayward bowling from SL. On a strip which was giving very little help to the bowler, the SL bowlers had to toil for their wickets but were helped by the RSA bats who were more than willing to take their chances against the short pitched deliveries. The SL had a very defensive and well laid out field making the hitting of boundaries a little more difficult on this huge field. After teh opening stand of 90 by the openers, RSA had to start all over again, as both the openers were dismissed between the space of 6 balls, which left 2 new batsmen at the crease and still more than half the match to go. Cullinan didn't help matters after he was stumped 5 overs later and it meant that RSA had 2 new batsmen at the crease and had to start all over again. After managing to get the RSA innings back on track after losing 3 wickets in the space of 10 runs, Cook (RSA) was out caught to a debatable decision, on a ball which didn't deviate much after leaving the crease. This time the innings didn't falter as McMillan and Rhodes continued at a steady pace. Symcox then partnered McMillan and Snell came in when McMillan left and between them they hit some gutsy strokes to boost the RSA score to a very reasonable but tough 222/7 in 50 overs.

SL needing to score 223 in the night, (only 1 side has managed to chase 200+ runs and win at this stadium in the past 9 matches played at this stadium), got off to a good with the openers putting up an opening stand of 24 runs. However on a pitch which gave the fast bowlers enough assistance, the RSA bowlers were at times almost playable as they constantly beat the SL batsmen with pace, swing and movement off the pitch. The white balls also helped (which accounted for the large number wides conceded by both sides). The chief wrecker in main was Brian McMillan who took 3 cacthes and 3 wickets. He started by combining with Donald (RSA) to dismiss Hathurusinghe (SL) and then ripped through the SL top order to claim the wickets of Jayasuriya, De Silva and Ranatunga in the space of 19 balls, and later took a further 2 catches to round off a excellent evening. However the most dramatic moment of the match came when Jonty Rhodes (RSA) dived forward to take what appeared to be a fair catch. The umpire had given Ranatunga (SL) his marching orders, but Rhodes called the batsman back after he said that the ball had bounced just in front of him. ``It would have been hypocritical to have claimed a catch an hour after having just joined hands to pray for peace.'', said Rhodes afterwards. Another bowler to shine was De Villiers (RSA), after sending down 6 overs for 1 wicket and just 7 runs and continuously beating the bat, he came back for his second spell and got just reward by taking 2 wickets to take his tally for the night to 3. SL were in desperate trouble at 60 for 7, when Tillikeratne and Dassanayake briefly lit the torch of hope for SL in an eight wicket partnership of 32, but it didn't last long for the torch was was extenguished when Donald and De Villiers were reintroduced into the attack for their second spell.

It was a night on which RSA's pace attack completely annhilated the SL batsmen with a mixture of pace and swing to give SL their biggest defeat and RSA their biggest victory in terms of runs.

Contributed by Reporter (fkhan@*ee.und.ac.za)