South Africa vs Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: Sri Lanka tour of South Africa, 2016-17 Venue: Kingsmead, Durban Date & Time: Feb 01, 01:30 PM LOCAL

Imran Tahir bagged three wickets in the first ODI © Cricbuzz

In the end, it turned out to be a tame effort by Sri Lanka as they hurtled to a 121-run loss. Dinesh Chandimal amassed a useful knock of 36, while Tharanga and Dickwella notched up 20s. However, they needed sizeable contributions from the top order. Wayne Parnell, Duminy and Tahir chipped in with two wickets each. To make it a perfect day for the home side, South Africa also gave a wonderful exhibition in the field.

Earlier in the day, du Plessis and Miller's sparkling bout of run-scoring took the Proteas to a noteworthy total of 307 for 6. With this victory, South Africa take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. South Africa have won 11 ODIs in a row at home now.

The ball seems to be following du Plessis everywhere today. He grabbed his third catch to dismiss Kulasekara. This was a relatively straightforward one as he snaffled it at square leg with both hands. Sri Lanka are nine down now.

Chandimal battled hard before he fell for 36. Chaturanga de Silva soon followed him back to the pavilion with Duminy getting his first wicket. Barring the T20I series, the tour of South Africa has been a chastening experience for the Sri Lankan unit.

@RussellDomingo @mmbangwa

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Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field. Maybe the visitors were encouraged by the fact that South Africa were able to chase down a target of 350 plus against Australia a few months earlier. Sachith Pathirana and Dhananjaya de Silva are in for the tourists, while South Africa have selected the same playing XI that won the first game.

Teams:

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Upul Tharanga(c), Dhananjaya de Silva, Chaturanga de Silva, Sachith Pathirana, Asela Gunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Lakshan Sandakan

South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers(c), Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir

After slipping to a 2-1 series defeat in the T20I series, South Africa blew away Sri Lanka in windy Port Elizabeth in the first ODI. With the famous brass band playing a variety of tunes in the background, Imran Tahir and Wayne Parnell ripped through Sri Lanka's line-up to skittle them out for 181. Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis then steered them past the modest total for the loss of just two wickets.

Now, the action has shifted to Kingsmead, Durban. The city is a home to numerous sandy beaches and powerful thunderstorms. Durban is also known for producing one of the most iconic cricket stadiums in South Africa - Kingsmead.

Sri Lanka perhaps would try to get some inspiration from the iconic settings of the ground when they take on the home side. The visitors, though, have a tough task on their hands.

Sri Lanka might bring in Lahiru Kumara to bolster their bowling line-up. The major concern, however, would be the failure of their batsmen to put up a good show in the first game. Only Kusal Mendis played with a degree of confidence to aggregate a fifty. The hosts, on the other hand, are set to play an unchanged side.

Stay tuned for toss and teams...

I'm Bharath Ramaraj, who will be with you through the course of the day's play. To connect with us via compelling cricket conversations, send in your tweets to @fancricket12 and we shall feature some of them in the blog.