NTINI TAKES FIVE AS SOUTH AFRICA WRAP UP SERIES

Set 291 to win, the tourists were seldom in the match despite a brave 74 from Romesh Kaluwitharana. They were all out for 191, giving South Africa a 4-0 lead in the six-match series.

The Sri Lankans were always in trouble after losing captain Sanath Jayasuriya early, reaching the halfway mark at 104 for four and when Kaluwitharana went after facing 110 deliveries, the tourists’ last hopes of saving the series went with him.

Needing to lift the run rate Kaluwitharana tried to get after Makhaya Ntini but succeeded only in dragging an attempted drive onto his stumps at 150 for five.

Mahela Jayawardene also looked solid in making 37, but he too could not give the innings the impetus it needed and in trying to lift Roger Telemachus over mid off, he hit a catch directly to Shaun Pollock.

Jayawardene was out at 174 for six and the score became 178 for seven when Chaminda Vaas was run out going for a second at the bowler’s end for 1, Ntini’s throw to Nicky Boje being true.

Ntini was again involved in the dismissal of Russel Arnold for 21 at 187 for eight when he held a catch off Jacques Kallis at mid on and the fast bowler then took his fourth wicket of the innings when he had Pramodya Wickramasinghe caught at the wicket off a thin edge for 2 at 191 for nine.

And Ntini claimed his fifth wicket when he had Muttiah Muralitharan caught at the wicket off his first ball to end the match.

Ntini's efforts were rewarded with the man of the match award.

SRI LANKANS IN TROUBLE IN FOURTH ODI

Jayasuriya probably represented Sri Lanka’s best hope of tracking down their target and keeping the series alive, but he went for just 12. And with wickets tumbling in the middle overs, the tourists were struggling at 104 for four at the halfway stage of their innings. At the crease were Romesh Kaluwitharana on 53 and Mahela Jayawardene on 3.

The Sri Lankan captain, who made 66 in Paarl on Tuesday, looked to be settling in again, but in Roger Telemachus’ third over he flicked one off his pads straight to Herschelle Gibbs at square leg and Sri Lanka were 25 for one.

Sri Lanka sent in 18-year-old Kaushalya Weeraratne at three, but the youngster was unable to get the innings going, making 13 off 16 balls before he played around Makhaya Ntini’s third ball to be comprehensively bowled. The second Sri Lankan wicket fell at 63.

Romesh Kaluwitharana, meanwhile, kept his end going, playing a succession of cultured strokes. He narrowly escaped being run out on 45 when he went for a risky second and only just beat Roger Telemachus’ return to Mark Boucher.

He reached a well-deserved 50, his 20th in ODIs, with a single off Ntini after facing 75 balls and hitting four fours.

The third Sri Lankan wicket fell at 98 when Marvan Atapattu slashed Jacques Kallis to a deep gully position where Shaun Pollock held the catch. Atapattu was out for 10 and the fourth wicket went four balls later when Mark Boucher went full length to his left to take a superb catch in front of first slip as Kumar Sangakkara nicked Ntini. Sangakkara made just 1 and Sri Lanka were 101 for four.

With the South Africans already struggling with a growing injury list, the home team were given more cause for concern when Lance Klusener pulled up after bowling just three balls and went off the field with what appeared to be a knee injury.

FIFTH 50 FOR RHODES AS SA REACH 290 FOR SEVEN

Going into this game, Rhodes’ previous four innings had brought him 69 (against New Zealand), 61 not out, 50 and 75 not out and he continued to mine this rich vein of form with 53 on Thursday.

With Jacques Kallis making 82, and passing 4,000 one-day runs in the process, the South Africans were able to capitalise on a foundation laid by Boeta Dippenaar’s splendid 77 and set Sri Lanka a testing target.

Rhodes came to the crease at the beginning of the 26th over to play with characteristic enterprise. As ever he ran like a hare between the wickets, turning ones into twos and twos into threes, as he scored all around the wicket.

He gave scarcely a chance and the closest he came to being dismissed was on 27 when he tried to pull Sanath Jayasuriya and the ball slid off his pads and trickled dangerously close to his wicket.

In all Rhodes hit five fours and was gifted a five when a shy at the stumps from Marvan Atapattu missed and ran away for four overthrows. His 50 came up off 45 deliveries and he had faced 52 balls when he tried to steer Chaminda Vaas to third man, but failed to get enough bat on it and Romesh Kaluwitharana took a stunning one-handed catch, diving to his right.

Rhodes went at 217 for four and two balls later Lance Klusener perished tamely for two, pushing Vaas into the hands of Jayasuriya at short cover.

Kallis had played second fiddle to Rhodes, but he picked up where he had left off in Paarl on Tuesday with an unbeaten 100, reaching his 50, and 4,000 runs, with a six over square leg off Muttiah Muralitharan.

Two balls later Kaluwitharana dropped the simplest of catches, spilling a top edge that went straight up and down as Kallis tried to slog Muralitharan. The off spinner was clearly furious at the mistake and Kallis promptly celebrated his life by driving Nuwan Zoysa for a huge straight six.

Kallis then rubbed salt into Muralitharan’s wounds by sweeping him hard and low over square leg for the third six of his innings and then hitting him into the sightscreen for a fourth. It was Muralitharan’s last over and in all 19 were taken off it.

Neil McKenzie tapped singles on his way to 18 before he lapped a full toss from Zoysa to short fine leg in the last over of the innings at 283 for six and Kallis holed out, fittingly caught by Muralitharan at long on, two balls later. He had faced only 79 balls.

DIPPENAAR SPARKLES AT NEWLANDS

Dippenaar, who is now assured of an extended run in the South African team following Gary Kirsten’s hand injury, batted quite beautifully as the home team took advantage of a perfect batting pitch to reach 133 for three in 25 overs. Nicky Boje had just been bowled for 32 while Jacques Kallis was not out on 7.

Dippenaar’s contribution was 77 off 86 balls and with Boje also in attacking mood, South Africa made light of the loss of Herschelle Gibbs’ wicket in the 11th over.

Gibbs again went cheaply as he struggles to re-establish himself following his six-month ban from international cricket, but with Dippenaar in such commanding form, South Africa seemed assured of reaching a formidable total.

Gibbs had lasted just four balls in two previous visits to the crease since his recall and he was almost out to the third ball he faced when an edge off Nuwan Zoysa bounced tantalisingly close to second slip. But Dippenaar quickly signalled his intentions by pulling Zoysa for six in the fourth over for the first boundary of the innings.

The Free Stater drove Chaminda Vaas straight for four and then slashed the left-armer to the point boundary as the innings started to gather momentum, but after Dippenaar had raised the 50 in the 11th over with another four off Vaas, Gibbs was out in the same over.

He flicked Vaas off his pads to backward square leg where Kaushalya Weeraratne took a good catch going to his left. Gibbs made 11 with the wicket falling at 53.

The South Africans continued unperturbed, however, and when Weeraratne came into the attack Dippenaar lifted his first ball over extra cover for four. Another four, also through extra, took Dippenaar to his 50 off 59 balls and at the end of the 15th over South Africa were 89 for one.

The hundred came up in the 17th over as Dippenaar crunched Pramodya Wickramasinghe for three fours in an over before Muttiah Muralitharan induced the first false shot from Dippenaar, a leading edge which fell harmlessly into space.

And it was Muralitharan who finally got rid of Dippenaar with the batsman playing a part in his own demise. He reverse swept the off-spinner, but failed to make full contact with the ball and Kumar Sangakkara took the catch at the second attempt in the gully.

It was Dippenaar’s highest ODI score, eclipsing the 65s he made against England and Sri Lanka, and he had surely convinced the selectors of his international credentials.

One more wicket was to fall before the innings reached the halfway stage. Boje hit all around Sanath Jayasuriya to be bowled for 32 off the last ball of the 25th over.

SA ELECT TO BAT IN NEWLANDS ODI

Both teams made one change to their attacks: for South Africa Roger Telemachus was passed fit to play and replaced Alan Dawson while Sri Lanka brought in Pramodya Wickramasinghe for Dilhara Fernando.

South Africa have a 3-0 lead in the six-match series.

Teams

South Africa: Herschelle Gibbs, Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Neil McKenzie, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje, Shaun Pollock (capt), Roger Telemachus, Makhaya Ntini.

Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Pramodya Wickramasinghe, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen and Barry Lambson. Third umpire: Brian Jerling.

© CricInfo

Date-stamped : 11 Jan2001 - 23:29