GIBBS HITS 79 AS SA MAKE IT 10 IN A ROW

The South Africans won by five wickets and could match the West Indies record of 11 successive victories if they win the last match in the series at the Wanderers on Wednesday.

For Herschelle Gibbs, the match was a welcome return to form. The Western Province opener made an assured 79 as South Africa tracked down Sri Lanka’s 206 with eight overs to spare.

On a pitch that occasionally played a little low in the afternoon, the Sri Lankan total was always going to be 30-40 runs too few and although the home side had the odd wobble, victory was seldom in doubt.

At the halfway stage the South Africans had been 129 for two and there was a slight hiccup when Jacques Kallis and Neil McKenzie were out in quick succession before Jonty Rhodes and Mark Boucher finished it off.

Kallis and Gibbs had put on 65 for the third wicket before Chaminda Vaas accounted for Kallis. He had some assistance from the pitch, with the ball keeping a shade low to trap Kallis leg before for 31.

Kallis had faced 48 balls for his runs hitting a four and a straight six off Sanath Jayasuriya.

The wicket fell at 177 and in the next over South Africa were 180 for four when McKenzie was caught at silly point off bat and pad by substitute field Tillekeratne Dilshan off Aravinda de Silva for a duck.

Rhodes, then on two, featured in an unusual over from Vaas. He stepped away from the fourth delivery, apparently disturbed by the chattering of the Sri Lankan fielders, and was bowled but umpire Brian Jerling pronounced the delivery a dead ball. Two balls later Rhodes nicked a bouncer to be caught at the wicket, but Jerling again thwarted the Sri Lankans by no balling Vaas for height.

Rhodes was then at fault when Gibbs was run out, calling for a second run that never seemed on to leave Gibbs well short of his ground from Marvan Atapattu’s throw. He had faced 112 balls, hitting seven fours and a six off Russel Arnold.

GIBBS PLAYS ANCHOR ROLE AS SA MAKE ROLLICKING START

Gibbs, whose highest score in three innings since coming back after a six-month ban had been 13, was on 45 as South Africa reached 129 for two after 25 overs in reply to Sri Lanka’s 206 all out. With Gibbs was Jacques Kallis on 8.

The South Africans looked certain to record their 10th successive ODI victory at home this summer. No matter how Sanath Jayasuriya juggled his bowlers he was unable to halt the run flow and at the halfway stage the Sri Lankans had only the wickets of Boeta Dippenaar and Nicky Boje to show for their efforts.

Both young Free States had been in storming form. Dippenaar took three fours of Dilhara Fernando’s first over and was the dominant figure in a 51-run opening partnership with a breezy 28 off 42 balls.

He fell in the 10th over of the innings to Pramodya Wickramasinghe’s third ball, cutting into the gully where Russel Arnold took a fine low catch.

If Dippenaar had been in sparkling form, Boje was even more so. He raced to 40 off 31 balls, slapping Fernando through the covers for his fifth boundary to raise the South African 100 in the 17th over of the innings and the 50 partnership.

He was out in the 20th over, however, trapped leg before on the crease by Muttiah Muralitharan with the second wicket falling at 112.

Gibbs, meanwhile, had played with great circumspection, allowing Dippenaar and then Boje the greater share of the strike, but his confidence was clearly growing and he began to play more shots following the departure of Boje.

He had taken two boundaries off Fernando and one of Chaminda Vaas but the clearest signal that he has nearing his best form came when he picked up Muralitharan and hit him sweetly over mid-wicket for four.

SRI LANKANS PAY FOR PROFLIGATE TOP ORDER

With the side’s senior batsmen throwing their wickets away during the first 25 overs of the innings, even a Sri Lankan record sixth-wicket partnership against South Africa between Russel Arnold and Kumar Sangakkara of 62 could not lift the tourists to a challenging total.

Arnold and Sangakkara had come together at 80 for five in the 17th over and had to rebuild an innings that had crumbled against the South African pace attack on a hard, firm pitch with fair bounce.

Arnold finally went after making 32 when he swept at Nicky Boje and top-edged a catch to Shaun Pollock standing at a short fine leg position. The left-hander had hit four fours in facing 53 deliveries and the sixth wicket had fallen at 142.

Sangakkara went 10 runs later for 33 when Pollock brought himself back into the attack and a short ball produced a hook that flew down to fine leg where Boeta Dippenaar took the catch.

Chaminda Vaas became the eighth man out at 160, giving Allan Donald his first wicket of the innings. Donald had been savaged by Sanath Jayasuriya in his first spell, going for 35 in four overs, but in his second over of his new spell from the Loch Logan end, he persuaded Vaas to drive and the thick outside edge flew to Jacques Kallis in a third slip position.

There was, however, a little bit of wag left in the Sri Lankan tail. Pramodya Wickramasinghe and Dilhara Fernando offered far more application and resolve than their more accomplished team-mates in adding 34 for the ninth wicket.

Finally, though, Wickramasinghe stepped away to leg to give himself room against Boje, but the arm ball followed him and he was caught by Mark Boucher off a bottom edge outside leg stump.

Wickramasinghe faced 40 balls for his brave 32 with the ninth wicket falling at 194 but Muttiah Muralitharan joined Fernando to bring up the 200 in the penultimate over of the innings.

Muralitharan was sufficiently confident to reverse sweep Boje, but he was run out off the second ball of the last over to leave Fernando unbeaten on 12.

WICKETS TUMBLE AS LANKANS HIT OUT

After 25 overs the tourists were 113 for five after playing as though they did not want the match to go its full 100 overs. At the crease were Russel Arnold on 12 and Kumar Sangakkara on 20.

The approach of Sri Lanka was typified by their captain Sanath Jayasuriya who launched into Allan Donald, hitting 23 off 17 balls, before giving his wicket away.,

Jayasuriya was not the first wicket to fall, however. Romesh Kaluwitharana got himself out in the fifth over of the innings for nine when he pulled Shaun Pollock straight to Nicky Boje at mid on.

Kaluwitharana was out at 24 and two overs later it was 35 for two when Pollock accounted for Jayasuriya with a ball that lifted at the Sri Lanka and took the outside edge for Mark Boucher to pouch the catch.

In his brief innings Jayasuriya hit three fours and a six carved off Donald over point and his dismissal signalled the arrival of Aravinda de Silva for his first game in South Africa on this tour.

Wearing an old, faded shirt with his name barely legible on the back, De Silva took five balls to settle in before pulling Pollock high over square leg for his first four, but after hitting a further two boundaries and making 20 off 24 balls, he provided Jacques Kallis with a simply return catch at 67 for three.

Kallis had replaced Donald whose four overs had cost 35. He was also responsible for two bad misfields and all the signs of rustiness were evident after his six-week break from the game.

Kallis also got rid of Mahela Jayawardene for one with a beautiful delivery that squared the batsman up and took the outside edge for a catch at the wicket. Jayawardene went at 78 for four and Makhaya Ntini, somewhat surprisingly, then bowled a maiden to leave the Sri Lankans at the same score after 15 overs.

Marvan Atapattu became the fifth man out when he dragged Ntini on after making 20 in just under an hour. At 80 for five Sri Lanka were precariously placed but with Arnold and Sangakkara a little more circumspect than their predecessors, Sri Lanka managed to reach the halfway stage of their innings without losing another wicket.

DONALD BACK AS SOUTH AFRICA ELECT TO FIELD

The home side brought Allan Donald back and gave a first cap to Justin Kemp with Lance Klusener and Roger Telemachus dropping out of the side that won at Newlands on Thursday. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, replaced Nuwan Zoysa with Dilhara Fernando while Aravinda de Silva came in for his first match of the tour in place of Kaushalya Weeraratne.

Teams

South Africa: Herschelle Gibbs, Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Neil McKenzie, Mark Boucher, Justin Kemp, Nicky Boje, Shaun Pollock (capt), Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini.

Sri Lanka: Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold, Chaminda Vaas, Pramodya Wickramasinghe, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen and Brian Jerling. Third umpire: Danny Becker.

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Date-stamped : 14 Jan2001 - 22:23