Wisden
Fifth One-Day International

Sri Lanka v South Africa

Brian Murgatroyd

At Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, August 31, 2004. Sri Lanka won by 49 runs. Toss: South Africa.

South Africa suffered the final humiliation of a wretched tour by losing their tenth successive match, conceding 300 against Sri Lanka for the first time in one-day cricket, after putting them in to bat. Gunawardene went early but the rest of the top order scored at or around a run a ball, and it took an excellent late spell from Langeveldt to keep Sri Lanka's total even vaguely in bounds. Kallis responded with his 13th one-day hundred, matching Gary Kirsten's South African record, but the pressure eventually told. The last seven wickets tumbled in 46 balls as Chandana took his first five-wicket haul in one-day internationals; he had earlier run out Smith with a throw from deep square leg. Atapattu missed the match to be at the bedside of his daughter Sanjali in hospital with dengue fever.

Man of the Match: U. D. U. Chandana. Man of the Series: K. C. Sangakkara.

© John Wisden & Co