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Road Safety World Series 2022: Sri Lanka Legends beat SA Legends by 11 runs; Morne van Wyk's heroics in vain

Morne van Wyk's heroic knock of 76 in 56 balls went in vain as Sri Lanka Legends defeated South Africa Legends by 11 runs in match number 10 of the Road Saftey World Series 2022 here at Holkar Stadium on Sunday.

Road Safety World Series 2022: Sri Lanka Legends beat SA Legends by 11 runs; Morne van Wyks heroics in vain

Indore, Sep 18: Morne van Wyk's entertaining knock of 76 in 56 balls went in vain as Sri Lanka Legends defeated South Africa Legends by 11 runs in match number 10 of the Road Saftey World Series 2022 here at Holkar Stadium on Sunday (September 18) and went to the top of team standings. This was Sri Lanka's third straight win in the tournament which was their third clinical performance.

Chasing a target of 166, South Africa could only muster 154 for the loss of six wickets as their middle-order failed to perform. South Africa lost opener Andrew Puttick - who notched up an unbeaten 51 off 36 balls - early. He scored 8 before getting bowled by Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan in the powerplay.

However, Morne van Wyk shared a solid 74-run stand with Alviro Petersen for the second wicket and kept South Africa in the hunt. The dangerous stand was broken by Jeevan Mendis when the left-arm spinner got Petersen caught by Isuru Udana for 22. South Africa had posted 92 in 11 overs when the second wicket fell.

41-year-old van Vyk, however, looked unfazed by the fall of wickets as the wicketkeeper-batter went on to slam his maiden fifty of the tournament. With 61 needed off 42 balls, captain Dilshan brought himself into the attack in the 13th over and van Wyk along with Jacques Rudolph milked 12 runs off it, including a big six over long-on. He kept attacking Sri Lankan bowlers at will but was running short of partners at the other end.

sri lanka beat south africa

Jacques Rudolph (10), and Jonty Rhodes (3) were dismissed in quick succession and the pressure on the scoreboard continued to increase. The hopes of a second win in the tournament, rested on van Wyk's shoulders as SA needed 40 off 24 balls but his valiant knock came to an end for 76 off 56 balls (4x4s and 6x6s). As the asking rate continued to mount, van Wyk tried to clear Nuwan Kulasekara for a big shot over long-on but failed to connect it properly and found Chaturanga-de-Silva in the deep.

As South Africa's hopes of chasing the target were all but over, Vernon Philander entertained the Indore crowd with his cameo. His six off Kulasekara on the first ball of the 19th over went out of the stadium but a couple of balls later, the right-handed batter was out caught. They could only score 154 for six.

Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka posted a decent 165 for six after being invited to bat first. Once in-form Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan was back in the dugout cheaply the Protea bowlers started mounting pressure upon the SA middle-order. Dilshan had taken just a single before pacer Vernon Philander trapped him LBW in the second over.

Opener Dilshan Munaweera, however, scored a 24-ball 26 before getting bowled by Johan Botha and with that the threatening 61-run stand for the second wicket with Upul Tharanga came to an end. Tharanga was also looking in fine touch before he was run out for 36, courtesy of a direct hit from Botha.

Jeevan Mendis, however, ensured the Sri Lankan bowlers had a decent total to defend as the left-handed batter played a brilliant cameo of 43 not out off just 27 deliveries. The southpaw's knock was laced with five fours and two sixes. In fact, those were the only maximums that came in Sri Lanka's innings. His union of 36 runs with Asela Gunaratne (25 off 17 balls) for the fifth wicket proved vital for Sri Lanka.

Story first published: Sunday, September 18, 2022, 19:59 [IST]
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