Right. That is all we have from this game. Sri Lanka will be pleased with this display and will look to wrap the series up in the next game, whereas, South Africa will look to bounce back. The second ODI will be played on Saturday, 04th September 2021 at 2.30 pm local (9 am GMT). You can tune in early for the buildup. Cheers!

Dasun Shanka, the Sri Lankan skipper, says this win was really pleasing. Mentions South Africa came into the game well but his bowlers did really well to take off the pressure. Adds that everyone contributed well and they built several partnerships in the middle which is a good sign. Also says he expected the ball to turn in the evening, but that was not the case. Adds they knew it is very hard to chase on this pitch and they were quite happy by putting up 300 on the board. 

Keshav Maharaj (stepping up for Temba Bavuma, who got injured) says that the skipper Bavuma has gone for a scan of his fingers and hopes he is fine and comes back early. Adds he just tried to concentrate and luckily enough it worked in his favour. Mentions they had a really good preparation coming into this game. Praises his batters as they fought hard but in the end, praises the Sri Lankan bowlers for their effort.

Avishka Fernando is the Player of the Match for his excellent effort with the bat and getting his third ODI ton. He says that he was determined and happy that they won. He was not happy early on with his innings but he made sure he grew into his innings. Adds that he is very happy to contribute to the team.

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Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka decided to post a total for the visitors as they chose to bat first. They started well and kept the scoreboard ticking throughout the course of the innings. Avishka Fernando was the star for them, as the youngster smacked a wonderful 118 and he was well supported by Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva as their knocks helped Sri Lanka post a great total of 300. In the end, their bowlers backed up their solid batting display and that sees them take a lead in this series. 

The bowling by Sri Lanka was good at the start, but they lost their way slightly in the middle overs as they were not able to sniff out the Saffa batters, but they bounced back at the right time towards the end of the game and have taken their side home. They took a wicket early on but found it hard after that and when Bavuma went back due to his finger injury, they saw that the door was ajar and slipped in. They took a couple of wickets post that and bowled very well to close the game out. It was about the spinners for them too, as Akila Dananjaya, Wanindu Hasaranga, Praveen Jayawickrama, and Dhananjaya de Silva bowled well and shared 4 amongst themselves. The pacers did not have a lot to do on this deck, but they wrapped the game up nicely, towards the end. 

Rassie van der Dussen took charge after that and after Kyle Verreynne departed, Rassie and Heinrich Klaasen did well to steady the ship and settle in, as they also raised a 51-run stand, wherein Rassie also reached his fifty and they looked like they would take their team over the line, but Rassie departed at the wrong time and Sri Lanka knew they could sniff the visitors out of the game now. Klaasen tried hard to find the boundary and take his team over the line, but it was not meant to be as they missed out by 14 runs. 

When you are chasing a total of 300 in a game, you need your openers to start off nicely so that the atmosphere in the camp is good and positive and that is what Janneman Malan and Aiden Markram did. They batted well and the scoreboard was ticking nicely too. Malan fell towards the end of Powerplay 1, but the duo of Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma batted very well. They did well to keep rotating the strike and when needed, they would find the boundary too. They were going along nicely before Bavuma was struck on the finger from a throw and he had to retire hurt. Markram looked to be in control too, but on 96, he looked for a big shot and ended up giving a catch to Hasaranga, who needed no second invitation. 

Wow, what a game this has been! It has gone right down to the wire and it is Sri Lanka, who come out as the superior side, as they win this game by 14 runs and take a 1-0 lead in this 3-game ODI series. South Africa will be a tad disappointed to miss out on this game as they knew that they had this game in their grasp, but have not been able to cross the line and would look to bounce back in their next clash. 

Keshav Maharaj walks out to face the last ball of the game!