http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887 delighted with his team’s performance at Pallekele – Cricket News
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 at Pallekele on Friday and feels that his side stuck to their plans.
De Villiers won the toss and opted to bat first on a bowling friendly pitch. The Proteas were in massive trouble at one stage, having lost half of their side for just 100 runs on the board. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/David-Lawson-Miller-c53037, however, rose to the occasion and smashed an unbeaten
85 off merely 72 deliveries, helping his team post a competitive total of 223 runs on the board.
In reply, the home team failed to cope with the South African bowlers and were bowled out for just 167 runs in the 44th over of the innings.
The skipper is happy that his team handled their nerves well under pressure. De Villiers is not too worries that http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RJ-Peterson-c2332, the left-arm spinner conceded 35 runs in an over against Thisara Perera.
"It's a great win. We handled the pressure situations extremely well, which pleased me very much," de Villiers said. "Robbie [Peterson] went for a big over when I threw him into the deep end. But it's the way the boys reacted which is what made me really
proud after that.”
Perera played a brilliant innings and scored 65 runs off merely 49 balls in which he struck five boundaries and as many hits out of the park. However, De Villiers is happy that his players did not panic when the Sri Lankan all-rounder was on fire.
“We stayed really calm, stuck to our game plans, kept it really simple and came out on top. The guys looked really hungry today and I'm glad we made it through,” he added.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 lost the opening two ODIs of the series but the win at Pallekele has given them a ray of hope, with the next match scheduled to be played at the same venue tomorrow. The Proteas would love to square the series after the fourth match; whereas,
the home team would be desperate to seal the battle.
Tags: