South Africa 135 for 2 in 28 overs (Markram 67*, van der Dussen 28*) beat Sri Lanka 225 (Kusal Mendis 56, Rabada 3-50, Tahir 2-33, Nortje 3-35) in 49.3 overs by 41runs (DLS method)
It was perhaps a merciful ending, though an utterly frustrating one for spectators at Newlands. South Africa were on course for another big victory, with 91 runs to get - eight wickets and 132 balls remaining - when the floodlights failed. The teams went off the ground and the crowd hoped that the electricians and engineers could rectify the problems, but 90 minutes after play stopped, the umpires had had enough. Play was called off - the lights situation not having improved. South Africa were 41 runs ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculations, and as such, completed a 5-0 sweep of the series.
Sri Lanka, perhaps, will be the happier of the two teams about the lights malfunction. Their bowlers did not seem capable of halting South Africa's advance, though they did at times slow the opposition's scoring rate. Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen, meanwhile, will be miffed that valuable time in the middle has been denied them. The two had put on a 57-run partnership for the third wicket, with Markram batting particularly well on 67 off 75 balls.
JP Duminy, who is retiring after the World Cup, was also deprived of a farewell one-day innings at his home ground.
It was with the ball that South Africa won the match, however. Sri Lanka produced yet another insipid top order performance, slipping to 141 for 7 in the 41st over, before a 61-run eighth-wicket stand between Priyamal Perera and Isuru Udana added a sheen of respectability to the innings, pushing them up to 225 all out.
But despite the decent finish, Sri Lanka's total was still modest, given the good batting conditions. South Africa's attack, hunting as a pack, had been persistent and disciplined - Imran Tahir and Kagiso Rabada picking up five wickets between them. Many of Sri Lanka's wounds, however, had been self-inflicted as well. Kusal Mendis, who top-scored with 56, was run out for the second time in the series, after a serious miscommunicaton with Priyamal. Angelo Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva departed to soft dismissals as well.
Rabada had South Africa's best figures, taking 3 for 50 - two of those wickets coming in his final over, when Udana, then Priyamal, holed out attempting big legside shots. Through the course of the innings, Rabada had bowled with excellent pace, even if the Newlands track did not offer much movement. Tahir, meanwhile, was as indomitable as usual, taking 2 for 33 in his last ODI on home soil - the sharp-spinning legbreak taking the outside edge of both Oshada Fernando and Angelo Perera's bats.
The Sri Lanka innings had all its usual pitfalls, almost as if they were following some sort of formula for failure. The first wicket fell in the fourth over - Avishka Fernando edging Lungi Ngidi to third slip. Upul Tharanga departed next over, nicking off to Rabada. Oshada Fernando and Mendis attempted to rebuild the innings - slowly - putting on 49 off 83 balls. Once Oshada was out, Mendis tried again with Angelo Perera - playing his first international in almost three years - as they put on 62 for the fourth wicket. But at no point were Sri Lanka able to build a partnership that really put South Africa under threat. After Angelo was out to Tahir, Mendis, Thisara Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva all lost their wickets in quick succession, and Sri Lanka seemed headed for a score of less than 200
Priyamal and Udana began their own partnership with caution, not venturing a boundary for 19 balls, before finally Udana walloped a Rabada bouncer through midwicket for four. Through the death overs, the pair were adventurous, hitting three more fours and a six, before Udana was caught at deep midwicket by Tahir, who judged the high chance well. Anrich Nortje finished off the innings, taking 2 for 35.
Lasith Malinga bowled well with the new ball, dismissing Quinton de Kock for 6 (the first time he's fallen for less than fifty this series), while keeping the other batsmen's scoring in check. But all South Africa had to do was wait out his spell and score off the remaining bowlers, so modest was the target.
Markram should have been out on 14, had Oshada Fernando held on to a low chance to his left at short cover, but as it happened, the batsman survived and hit several sumptuous offside boundaries. He passed 50 for only the second time in his ODI career and had just moved to his highest one day score when the teams went off the field. Van der Dussen was on 28 not out.
