It’s a huge step in the right direction: De Villiers

South Africa captain proud of his players after 82-run victory over Sri Lanka.

South Africa captain AB de Villiers said his team delivered when it mattered, as the visitors defeated Sri Lanka by 82 runs in their third and last ODI to bag the first-ever one-day series on the island 2-1 on Saturday.

In the post-match presentation ceremony, De Villiers said that they experience some mishaps earlier, but the ball was coming onto the bat easily in the latter part of the innings.

“[I am] very happy with the boys,” said De Villiers.

“It’s our first series win here, so we’ll celebrate tonight. I thought we slipped up a little early but we made it up in the end. Sri Lanka bowled well in the Powerplay, but later on I was seeing the ball really well.”

He was also given the man-of-the-match award for his heroic century, which came in 66 balls en route to the 71-ball 108. He added that the series win is the right step towards the preparation for the upcoming World Cup.

“It’s not a World Cup, but for us it’s a huge step in the right direction,” added De Villers. “I’m just proud of the whole team.”

Hashim Amla was named man-of-the-series for his two centuries and a 48 in this match.

“I’m grateful to get some runs,” said Amla.

“I think this pitch is the flattest one I’ve ever played on. We’ll take some confidence from this going forward, but tomorrow [Sunday] the Test preparations start.”

South Africa rode on aggressive hundreds from Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers to beat the hosts.

Left-hand wicketkeeper batsman De Kock smashed 128 off 127 balls, while skipper De Villiers hit a fiery 71-ball 108 as South Africa posted 339-5. The Proteas then restricted the hosts to 257 in the 44th over.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said that their performance was under par and they didn’t deserve a win.

“We don’t deserve to win the way we played today,” said Mathews.

“We were flat on the field, let go of a few catches and didn’t play well. It was a depressing performance.”

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake has been banned from international cricket with immediate effe ct after his bowling action during a match against England proved illegal.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2014.

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