Raipur (Chhattisgarh): Riding on an incredible all-round performance by captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka Legends defeated South Africa Legends by nine wickets in the Road Safety World Series T20 here on Monday. The right-hand opener Dilshan smashed fifty off just 40 balls and picked one wicket in his quota of four overs.
Chasing a 90-run target, Dilshan and Upul Tharanga (27, 31b, 5x4) added 69 runs that saw Sri Lanka achieve the target with 40 balls to spare. Sri Lanka, with three wins and one defeat from four matches, are now behind India Legends with 12 points.
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Earlier, Sri Lanka Legends, who opted to field first, put up a brilliant show with the ball as they bundled South Africa out for 89 in 18.5 overs. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, seamer Nuwan Kulasekara and Sanath Jayasuriya took two wickets each. However, it was Herath and Dilshan's choking line that hurt South Africa the most.
South Africa's No.3 Andrew Puttick turned out to be the highest scorer with a 46-ball 39 that included four boundaries.
The South Africans never looked settled from the beginning as they lost their first wicket on the very first ball of the match after a bad call between openers Loots Bosman and Alviro Petersen (0) which cost them a run out (of Peterson) in captain Dilshan's over.
Kulasekara rubbed in more salt by castling Petersen's partner Bosman stumps for a second duck. In dire need of a partnership, South Africa couldn't get it as wickets kept falling on one end even as Puttick held the fort from the other.
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The only major stand was 31 runs for the fourth wicket between Puttick and Zander de Bruyn (15) before Herath got the latter leg before the wicket.
Once Puttick was gone, thanks to Jayasuriya, it was almost over for South Africa. Even captain Jonty Rhodes (2) failed to put up a show and got out to Dilshan edging one to wicket-keeper Upul Tharanga. South Africans eventually were back in the dug-out at the score of 89.
Brief scores: South Africa Legends 89 (Puttick 39; Kulasekara 2/13, Herath 2/11, Jayasuriya 2/25); Sri Lanka Legends 92/1 (Dilshan 50*, Tharanga 27*).
