Another Exodus anomala for South Africa

World Cup Classics: South Africa v Sri Lanka, Group match, Kingsmead, Durban, 3 March 2003

South Africa continued to find odd ways to crash out of the World Cup. This time it was even more of a heartache as they were knocked out as hosts from the preliminary stage. They tied the match in a stirring fashion and settled for it only to know afterwards that they had misread the print on the D/L sheet which required them to win it instead. The happy Sri Lankan fans were gleaming under raindrops but the Proteas were left high and dry.

Sanath Jayasuriya elected to bat first on a gloomy day. A sedate Jayasuriya was run out at the total score of 37 but Marvan Atapattu and Hashan Tillakaratne took the score to 77 in the 18th over. Atapattu was in sublime touch defying the South African seamers despite the heavy cloud cover. Jayawardene went cheaply but Aravinda de Silva supported Atapattu for a magnificent 4th wicket partnership of 152 runs at a brisk rate of 6.7 runs per over. After both fell one after another, Sri Lanka lost the way a bit losing wickets in a heap in the last 5 overs and scored under 6 runs an over to finish at 268 for 9. Man of the match Atapattu played a match-winning knock of 124 off 129 balls with 18 delightful fours while de Silva scored an enterprising 73 in 78 balls with 6 fours and 2 sixes. For the Proteas Jacques Kallis took 3 wickets for 43. It was a challenging total for the hosts who had to deal with the swing of Chaminda Vaas as well as the weather.

Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs started briskly and negotiated both Vaas and Pulasthi Gunaratne with authority. They put on 65 in 11.1 overs and eased the nerves in the Proteas camp. Gary Kirsten and Kallis did not last long as Sri Lankan spinners brought their team back into the match. Gibbs who was carrying his team’s chances was clean bowled by Muralitharan and Dippenaar was snared by Jayasuriya to leave the game wide open at 149 for 5 in the 30th over. One more wicket would have sunk South Africa but Mark Boucher (45 off 50 balls) came to their rescue scoring 63 runs with his captain Shaun Pollock for the 6th wicket. Pollock was run out by a millimeter or two for 25 when Murali reverse-flicked the ball onto the stumps.

Lance Klusener entered the crease with 57 required off 45 balls but he struggled against the spinners and both batsmen did not show any urgency till the rain became heavier. Murali bowled the 45th over which proved to be the last one. South Africa required to reach 230 runs without losing any more wickets at the end of the over. After being gifted 5 wides, Boucher hit the 5th ball for a massive six to reach 229 and pumped his fists in the air with joy thinking they had achieved the runs required for the over. So he softly played the last ball and did not take the run. As they walked off the pitch after umpires decided to stop the match due to rain, Shaun Pollock was seen holding his head in his hands in disbelief and disappointment. He, obviously, had misread the D/L sheet and the batsmen in the middle were given wrong information. It was a heart break for South Africa as they still needed 40 runs off 30 balls with no chance of play to resume in heavy showers. Another World Cup campaign had ended in bizarre fashion for them.

It was a good result for Sri Lanka to qualify for Super Sixes who had earlier hesitated to even play the match questioning the rule for separating teams tied on points. South Africa, conversely, did not choke this time but misinterpretation of the D/L par score left a bitter taste among their fans whose interest diminished as hosts for the remainder of the tournament.