South Africa won the first One-Day International comfortably as they cruised to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka with 114 balls to spare. Thus, it was a perfect start for the visitors after they faced defeat in the Test series.
Angelo Mathews won the toss and decided to bat first. However, the Sri Lankan skipper had not thought that his team will get off to a worse possible start. The hosts had their backs against the wall when they were tottering at 36 for 5. Kagiso Rabada was the chief destroyer as he took three wickets in his first spell. Lungi Ngidi got the wicket of Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews.
South Africa was able to put a fine bowling performance.
Upul Tharanga failed to make his ground when he was dismissed via a run-out. Thisara Perera and Kusal Perera decided to take the attack on the Proteas bowlers from the word go. Both southpaw batsmen were involved in a 92-runs partnership. However, Thisara perished in order to keep the run-rate going at the same rate.
Soon, Kusal Perera was running out of partners. The left-hander played was the lone warrior in Sri Lanka batting innings as he scored a valiant 82. However, the home side was well short of the par score as they could only manage 193 on the board.
Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi were able to bag four wickets each for the tourists. Shamsi was adjudged the Man of the Match for his four-wicket haul.
In response, the visitors achieved the paltry score in just 31 overs. A couple of 40’s from Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis combined with a quickfire fifty from JP Duminy helped South Africa get over the line with ease.
The Proteas were able to tick the right boxes in the first One-Dayer. Thus, the visitors were able to be put their noses in front. Faf du Plessis led team will like to continue with the impetus whereas Sri Lanka will aim to bounce back in the series.
The next match will take place at the same venue of Dambulla on August 1.