5 things we learned from Sri Lanka-South Africa ODI series

The recently concluded 5-match ODI series between Sri Lanka and South Africa followed a strange pattern. South Africa romped to victory in the first three matches to seal the series but then lost the next two matches without much fight.

But the overall series victory was important for South Africa after their crushing defeat at the hands of the hosts in the Test series. It was also important as it came in the absence of the recently-retired AB de Villiers and after their disastrous performance at home against India in their last ODI campaign. So, at the end of the series, let’s look at five takeaways from this contest.

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De Kock and Duminy - Fulcrum of SA batting

JP Duminy was the man-of-the-series against Sri Lanka

Both Quinton de Kock and JP Duminy showed great form and reasserted their quality in limited-overs cricket. While De Kock proved that he is good in all conditions when playing ODIs, Duminy, who is now retired from Test cricket, displayed that he is still a force to be reckoned with.

What this means going ahead for South Africa is that, with AB gone, it’s these two batsmen around which South Africa’s batting would revolve. Yes, there are other quality batsmen also but the class and experience of these two make them vital to South Africa’s plans for next year’s World Cup.

De Kock, especially, is key as he bats at the top of the order and is capable of shredding the opposition attack to bits on his day. When he is playing well, South Africa are a very difficult side to beat. His form is essential for their success that he gets into his stride.

Amla has still got it

Though he scored just one fifty in the series, Amla looked in good form

For someone who has as impressive an ODI record as Hashim Amla, his recent run of form in ODI cricket has been extremely disappointing. Questions were being raised about his future and whether he is at the end of his career.

Well, going by his batting efforts in this series, he still has life left in him. This may sound strange because he scored just one fifty in the entire series but his strokeplay and overall batting performance were oozing with the brilliance that has led to him scoring a ton of runs at this level.

Yes, he didn’t get a big score and got out cheaply to a peach of a delivery by Suranga Lakmal in the final ODI but one gets the feeling that a big knock is around the corner for him.

Hendricks could be the one to watch out for

Reeza Hendricks 100 on debut was a scintillating knock

South Africa have tried many new batsmen in ODI cricket recently as a result of injuries to senior players. Among them, the most impressive and talented seems to be Reeza Hendricks. The hundred that he scored in the third ODI was a knock that revealed his class and great ability to the audience.

He looks well-settled at the crease and times the ball superbly. His sweeping against the spinners was equally impressive. With De Villiers no longer there for South Africa, they need a solid batsman in the middle order to assist other key players like Du Plessis and Miller.

While no one can take the place of De Villiers, if Hendricks lives up to his potential, he could be a great asset to his team going forward.

Dananjaya – The new trump card

Akila Dananjaya seems to be joining the club of leg-spinners making an impact in ODI cricket

The wily Akila Dananjaya continued to torment the Proteas batsmen in the ODI series also. While he would have to perform well against better Test sides in the longer format to prove his worth there, in ODI cricket, he certainly is emerging as a great threat.

Though he started out as an off-spinner, he has now become primarily a leg-break bowler with a deadly googly. At a time when leg-spinners are making a big mark in limited-overs cricket, he could emerge as the trump card for his team.

We have seen a trend in recent times of batsmen struggling against good-quality leg-spinners, especially, if they can turn it both ways. With few players good enough to counter such tricks, Dananjaya could do what Ajantha Mendis did for Sri Lanka some years ago.

Batting woes for Lanka

India v Sri Lanka - ICC Champions Trophy

While the Sri Lankan batting order in Test matches is beginning to stabilize, in ODI cricket, it remains unstable. The absence of Dinesh Chandimal was felt throughout the series and lack of runs from Kusal Mendis and Upul Tharanga also affected their performance.

Kusal Perera showed some form in the series which is good news but the problem of him not going on to get a big score remains. The biggest positive for Sri Lanka was the knock from Angelo Mathews in the last ODI. He, along with Chandimal, are the lynchpins of the batting line-up and have to guide the youngsters going forward.

Tharanga, who is older to both, also disappointed in this series. Being the senior man in the line up, more is expected of him. Going by this series, there are a lot of holes to be filled up in the batting line-up for Sri Lanka to become.