Proteas singing Nkosi Sikeleli at start of Champions trophy match with Sri Lanka

However from that point on the Sri Lankans dominated proceedings. Tillakaratne Dilshan blazed a magnificent 106 off just 92 deliveries. His record second wicket partnership of 158 off just 104 balls with Kumar Sangakarra paved the way for a big Sri Lankan total.

Dilshan batted superbly, chancing his arm on accassion but being rewarded for his bravery and willingness to play shots. The Proteas offered very little to combat him, and were unable to string together more than 1 or 2 overs to try and build any pressure.

When Dilshan and Sangakarra departed there were still 20 overs remaining and Mahela Jayawardene and Samaraweera then rebuilt the innings nicely and ensured Sri Lanka didn’t lose any momentum. Jayawardene had been struggling for form in the one day game, but scored a great 77 off only 61 deliveries.

A score of 319 was always going to be tough batting in the second innings. Graeme Smith must have been extremely disappointed with that result after he won the toss and put Sri Lanka in to bat. Why he didn’t make use of the best batting conditions first is beyond me, however the Proteas do like to chase targets.

After  the early loss of Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis rebuilt the innings together with Graeme Smith. a 81 run partnership at about run a ball helped put South Africa in a competitive position before wickets fell at regular intervals.

Ajantha Mendis was particularly good, and won his duel with the South African batsmen. Both Graeme Smith and JP Duminy failing to read his deliveries and seeing their stumps knocked over.

This result places immense pressure on the Proteas who now have to win every game. It also means they are likely to have a semi-final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg if they get that far. They will need to bounce back strongly, otherwise it’ll be just another failure at an ICC tournament.