7.08pm South Africa make it 4-0 with another comprehensive victory. They chose to put Sri Lanka in to bat this afternoon, and had them teetering at 131 for 9 before Isuru Udana's counter-attacking 78 pushed his team towards respectability. But their 189 was never going to be enough on a pitch that played true throughout the day. De Kock then did what he usually does these days, launching the chase and collecting his fifth consecutive fifty-plus score. Du Plessis kept the runs ticking, and Duminy eased his way back into international action with a fluent, unbeaten 31 that saw his side to a six-wicket victory.
"You can't say much," says Lasith Malinga, who once again doesn't mince his words. "We are going on the same path. The wicket was very suitable for the bat, but the batsmen didn't realise the value and the opportunity to play a long innings. And with the ball, we could only get four wickets. Being six down inside 18 overs, it's very hard to come back. We always talk about taking responsibility and putting our hands up to bat through the full fifty overs, but the last few years, we've been struggling to do that. Before we get to the World Cup, we have to realise that and get there. Some people don't realise their value and do their job for the national team. This is a good, tough side to play before the World Cup. All the players need to realise these are the conditions we need to prepare for at the World Cup. Udana is a genuine allrounder in domestic cricket, and he showed he's good enough to play international cricket. That's one plus point for us."
Isuru Udana is the Man of the Match
"I knew once we were nine down, I had to take on the bowlers," he says. "Especially the fast bowlers bowling against the wind. It worked. I'm working very hard on my batting for the last five months, so I'm very happy about this. When I got there, my plan was to rotate the strike and give the proper batsman the strike. That didn't work so well. But when we were nine down, I had to take on the bowling and that worked."
"Really pleasing to see JP and Dave finish it off for us," says Faf du Plessis. "That's what we want our middle order to do for us. For the bowling unit, this series has been good and very consistent. The last two games, the batting is also starting to tick very nicely. Big picture, not the worst thing that Quinton and I got out today, because it gave those guys a chance. They were really solid. I like No. 3, I really enjoy it. But I can adapt my game between 3 and 4. We have guys who can bat in different positions, and that's important for the World Cup. Cape Town is always a good crowd, the guys are confident and there's a real good buzz in the squad. We might make one or two changes for the last game to make sure everyone gets an opportunity. We're playing some really good cricket. All the stuff that needed to happen over the last six months or year has happened. We're clear in what we want from a balance point of view. One more to go, and then the guys off to IPL, and then it's an exciting two months for us."
And that's just about all from your commentary team, Liam Brickhill and Sreshth Shah. For an in depth look at today's match, don't forget to check out Andrew Fidel Fernando's report. And please do join us again for the fifth and final game of the series at Newlands on Saturday. Until then, goodbye!
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All the fielders have been brought up now
Jason: "Why doesn't miller get a shot at Test cricket? I would argue based on his performances the last few years, he's is now much better at protecting his wicket than assaulting the scoreboard. " -- I don't think he's interested, having retired from First Class cricket last year
END OF OVER:32 | 6 Runs | SA: 183/4 (7 runs required from 18 overs, RR: 5.71, RRR: 0.38)
- Jean-Paul Duminy30 (19b)
- David Miller20 (30b)
- Lasith Malinga7-0-38-0
- Thisara Perera2-0-7-0
Tharin: "@Dinesh Malinga didnt debut until 2004. 2003 he was still sporting a hair cut done by his mother.."
Raj_83: "Regardless of the bad luck today, Priyamal Perera should be given another chance.He has been selected for a reason." -- Yep, can't judge him on one (albeit very short) innings
END OF OVER:31 | 4 Runs | SA: 177/4 (13 runs required from 19 overs, RR: 5.70, RRR: 0.68)
- Jean-Paul Duminy24 (13b)
- David Miller20 (30b)
- Thisara Perera2-0-7-0
- Lasith Malinga6-0-32-0
PietSkiet: "Lot of top teams struggle with middle order scoring runs. I suspect key to upcoming World Cup will be a strong middle order, with Faf, Miller and Duminy back I suspect SA not looking to bad all of a sudden"
Rahul Gandhi: "Who will emerge on top: Miller or Malinga? Either ways, it's going to feature a lot of Masala. If only Sri Lanka had Mahela :((("
END OF OVER:30 | 7 Runs | SA: 173/4 (17 runs required from 20 overs, RR: 5.76, RRR: 0.85)
- David Miller18 (26b)
- Jean-Paul Duminy22 (11b)
- Lasith Malinga6-0-32-0
- Thisara Perera1-0-3-0
Brian Roberts: "This new Miller is so responsible! I like it."
Dinesh Asanka: "Sri lanka needs malinga in 2003" -- Well, they've got him in 2019. Here's the captain with the ball
END OF OVER:29 | 3 Runs | SA: 166/4 (24 runs required from 21 overs, RR: 5.72, RRR: 1.14)
- David Miller16 (22b)
- Jean-Paul Duminy17 (9b)
- Thisara Perera1-0-3-0
- Kamindu Mendis4-0-34-0