South Africa lost the series-deciding third ODI against Sri Lanka by 78 runs in Colombo yesterday.
Chasing the hosts’ 203/9, the Proteas were bowled out for a humiliating 125 in 30 overs.
With pitch conditions suited for spin bowling, Sri Lanka opted to bat first after winning the toss.
They then gave their visitors false hope, with South Africa’s spin bowlers, led by stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj, dominating their hosts.
Middle-order batsmen Charith Asalanka (47) and Dhananjaya de Silva (31) fought hard for their team, with tail-ender Dushmantha Chameera (29) chipping in with some valuable runs towards the end.
Having had Sri Lanka at 121/6 at one stage, SA would have felt that they could have restricted the hosts even more.
But in the end, Maharaj (3/38), Tabraiz Shamsi (2/31) and George Linde (2/32) would have been happy with their efforts.
That’s until it was their team’s turn to bat.
South Africa’s top order crumbled within the first five overs – Aiden Markram (2) caught at slip, with seamer Chameera (2/16) removing Reeza Hendricks’ off-stump bail for one and also taking out Rassie van der Dussen for five.
At 19/3, SA needed a hero in the fifth over already.
But when debutant Maheesh Theekshana (4/37) took the wicket of Janneman Malan (18) with his first ball, the writing was on the wall at 45/4.
After a brief rain interruption, Sri Lanka spun out SA’s last six wickets for 80 runs, with Heinrich Klaasen top-scoring with his knock of 22.
The two teams now shift their attention to the three-match T20I series starting on Friday.