Ken Borland

The sweet fragrance of blooming confidence and the reward for hard work put in seems to be permeating through the Proteas batting line-up in Sri Lanka at the moment and South Africa are hopeful they will hit their peak in the third and decisive ODI in Colombo on Tuesday.

The Proteas have posted scores of 286 for six and 283 for six in the two matches thus far. Their defeat in the first ODI was mostly due to some shoddy bowling and fielding. As a measure of their improvement with the bat, of their last 20 innings totals on the subcontinent, only five have been higher.

“Sri Lanka is known for spin bowlers, we were well-aware of that before the tour and a lot of work was put in behind the scenes, especially at our camp in Potchefstroom, which really helped. Coming here, our focus has been on how we face spin. Fortunately all that hard work is paying off, we’ve adapted well and we are playing nicely,” top-order batsman Reeza Hendricks said on Monday.

“We would now love to play our best game in the decider. It’s just about mindset. We played well in the first game but we came up just short, we leaked 15-20 runs too many in the field. The good thing is there are a few guys contributing and we are quite confident with the team we’ve got and the way we’ve been playing.”

Hendricks batted particularly well in the second ODI, coming into the side for the injured regular captain, Temba Bavuma. The 32-year-old, playing his 22^nd ODI, came in at 43 for one in the ninth over and scored at pretty much a run-a-ball from the outset, making the Sri Lankan bowling look pretty friendly as he cruised to 51 off 54 balls.

“I still took some time to get myself in and then I was able to play freely. My role was to keep the intent going and the scoreboard ticking over. I would have loved to go on further though,” Hendricks said.

He most certainly fulfilled his role as he helped increase the run-rate in a second-wicket partnership of 96 with brilliant centurion Janneman Malan.

Speaking of friendly, fast bowler Kagiso Rabada was decidedly unfriendly as he rocked the Sri Lankan reply with two for 16 in his six overs up front. Unfortunately he then sprained his ankle fielding and had to pull out of the rest of the game.

According to team management, Rabada was “progressing well” on Monday and will do a final fitness test before the match on Tuesday.

Proteas opener Janneman Malan said his success in scoring a brilliant century against Sri Lanka at the weekend was thanks to a little help from his friends.

Malan’s brilliantly composed 121 off 135 balls led South Africa to a series-levelling 67-run win in Colombo, with the visitors posting a commanding 283 for six as their top-order dovetailed superbly, supporting him in successive partnerships of 43, 96, 38 and 86. Heinrich Klaasen then provided the explosive finish with his impressive 43 off 27 balls.

“The batting unit did really well, the coaches have set us realistic goals and expectations and we know that if we hit those then we have a good chance of winning. Reeza Hendricks’ 51 was very valuable, he scored at a run-a-ball, and Heinrich deserves credit as well. And just watching Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen with the way they go about things, our batting is in a good space.

“Particularly against spin, we’ve seen the sweep is very effective, you can trust the bounce here and the straight bat tends to get beaten by the turn. And we also bowled really well. The bowlers didn’t do too badly in the first game, but maybe we underestimated how full we can go and the Sri Lankan batsmen like to go square,” Malan said after his man of the match performance.

The arrival of the 25-year-od in the ODI team has been nothing short of incredible. Malan has now scored three hundreds and two fifties n his eight ODI innings. He has scored a world-record 627 runs in his first eight innings, and that includes a first-ball duck on debut!

It is obvious that Malan’s uncomplicated style and unfazed approach has stood him in good stead.

“You never know how many chances you’re going to get and these are new conditions and you have to try and adapt and trust your skills. I try not to think about my batting too hard, I just break it down and take it game by game. I don’t really know what to make of my start, I’m just trying to score runs. I feel fortunate to have made such a good start to my career,” Malan said.

The third and decisive ODI will be played at the same Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday.

Taking over as captain at short notice in a three-match series in which you are already 1-0 down may seem like an unenviable task, but Keshav Maharaj is confident that the Proteas can bounce back as he leads them in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.

Team management confirmed on Friday that regular captain Temba Bavuma is out of the tour with a fractured thumb after an unfortunate incident that saw him struck while batting by an errant throw by a Sri Lankan fielder. It not only crucially halted the Proteas’ momentum as they were well-placed in their run-chase, but has also left their backs against the wall following the 14-run defeat in the opening game.

Left-arm spinner Maharaj, who was outstanding with the ball, will now lead South Africa for the first time. The 31-year-old has only recently been a regular in the ODI side, playing just 12 of the 55 games since his debut in 2017, and the elevation to the captaincy is an amazing turn for this remarkable cricketer.

“Losing the first game is not ideal and we were obviously disappointed. But the morale is still high, we came so close, so just one more step and we are pretty much there. There were a lot of positives, we will reassess and hopefully implement the right strategies. There’s been a lot of reflection, which is good because it shows growth and maturity. As a collective there are good signs.

“But it is a process. We have to fight for World Cup qualification points, but more growth is also important. We have to get back to winning ways, but we need to take it one step at a time and take the learnings from our losses,” Maharaj said on Friday.

This new Proteas white-ball outfit is almost unidentifiable from previous national teams because they rely so heavily on spin rather than fiery pace bowling, which has been the undisputed king in the past. But Maharaj has pinpointed better work by the seamers up front, especially in terms of conceding fewer wides and no-balls, as something within their control. Between them, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Andile Phehlukwayo conceded 171 runs in 24 overs.

“It took us a little longer to adapt at the start and we did not limit our extras well enough. Maybe it was a bit of rustiness, but we can be a lot better there. We’ll have to reassess our lines and lengths, but the wides and no-balls we can control. And we also need to make sure we get our fields right for the lines and lengths.

“Spin is generally the way to go in the subcontinent, but the seamers can still do a job and they showed that in their second or third spells. Aiden Markram also did a remarkable job for someone who is not a frontliner, and we are in a good space in terms of bowling resources,” Maharaj said.

South Africa’s finishers were unable to answer the call as the Proteas slipped to a 14-run defeat in the first ODI against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday night.

The Proteas were chasing a daunting 301 for victory, more than any team has achieved to win a match batting second at Sri Lanka’s biggest stadium.

But following a marvellous 96 off 90 balls by opener Aiden Markram and an excellent run-a-ball 59 by Rassie van der Dussen, South Africa needed 41 to win off the last four overs with six wickets in hand. Exactly the sort of match situation in which the finishers are expected to produce the big hits.

But unfortunately Heinrich Klaasen (36 off 31), who had batted well in support of Van der Dussen, and Andile Phehlukwayo (5 off 8) just could not accelerate enough to win the game.

That it all came down to them was partly due to sheer bad luck for the Proteas. Captain Temba Bavuma was well set on 38 not out and the Proteas were cruising as he and Markram had added 106 for the second wicket at pretty much a run-a-ball. But Bavuma was then struck on the hand by a wayward throw by a Sri Lankan fielder and two overs later had to retire hurt.

It was a crucial change in momentum as South Africa needed 146 from 22 overs, with nine wickets in hand and Markram flying, when the skipper left the crease.

When Markram was dismissed three overs later, it meant the visitors had to rebuild and, as well as Van der Dussen did, he lacked enough quality at the other end.

Markram had driven over extra cover superbly all innings, but he was splendidly caught by Wanindu Hasaranga running in from the cover boundary when left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama obtained sharper turn than expected.

A brave effort by the South African top-order was also undone by some friendly, ineffictive bowing by the Proteas seamers.

Between them, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Phehlukwayo conceded 171 runs in 24 overs.

Opener Avishka Fernando punished the wayward bowlers as he anchored the Sri Lankan innings with a brilliantly-paced 118 off 115 balls, adding 79 for the third wicket with Dhananjaya de Silva (44).

The real fireworks came when young Charith Asalanka struck a powerful 71 off 62 balls, adding 97 in 12 overs with Avishka.

The spinners bowled well for South Africa with Keshav Maharaj outstanding with two for 30 in his 10 overs.