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The fifth and the final ODI of the Sunfoil series had more twists and turns than an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. The fans at Johannesburg got their monies worth as they were treated to three amazing centuries. South Africa batting first, set up a huge total of 312-4 on a flat track at the Wanderers. Graeme Smith(125) overcame a scratchy start to register his first hundred since 2009 while the Man of the series, AB de Villiers(125*) breezed to his first ton as skipper. In pursuit of 313, Tillakaratne Dilshan (41) and Upul Tharanga (46) launched an opening stand worth 72 runs. Sangakkara (102) led the Lankan charge along with Lahiru Thirumane (69) in the middle overs. Then a raft of wickets at back end of the Lankan innings triggered the panic button before Sachitra Senanayake spanked a six on the penultimate ball of the match to script a nerve-wracking 2 wicket win that allowed the Lankan lions to sign off their South African odyssey on a high. Notably, Sri Lanka earned the distinction of being the first team since New Zealand in 2007 to have gunned down 300 or more in successive ODIs.

The vibrant Sri Lankans, back to winning ways in the 4th ODI at Kimberley locked horns with South Africa on a batsman-friendly track at the Bullring in Johannesburg in the final ODI of the Sunfoil series. South Africa, who erred tactically at Kimberly recalled the experienced Albie Morkel into the Playing XI. This meant that Vernon Philander had to sit out. Meanwhile, the Lankan Lions did not tinker with their line up and went in with an unchanged team from their successful outing at Kimberly. Sri Lanka won the toss and stuck to their winning formula of bowling first. Dilshan reckoned that the Lankans would be better off chasing rather than setting a target.

The Lankan new ball operators, Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga, settled into a probing line and length outside the off-stump to keep South Africa in check. The gradual build up of pressure got the better of Alvio Petersen(6). Petersen loosely poked at a one outside off-stump only to be snapped up by Angelo Mathews stationed at first slip off the bowling of Malinga in the 4th over. AB de Villiers' continuing trend of experimenting with the batting order did not uplift the run-rate either. Faf du Plessis, coming in at one drop infact struggled to put bat onto ball. South Africa ambled to 33-1 in the mandatory powerplay, a far cry from their rollicking start at Kimberley. Soon after, Graeme Smith took a few calculated risks to set the immobile Proteas innings rolling. Faf du Plessis too radiated positive intent after coming out of his shell.

The flourishing Smith - Du Plessis partnership repaired the early damage and stabilized the innings. Unfortunately for the hosts, the 60 run stand was jolted when the young lad's ambitious lofted shot failed to clear long on. Angelo Mathews accepted his second catch of the day to hand Senanayake his first wicket in international cricket. The bowling powerplay also belonged to the touring party where they conceded only 19 runs and took out Du Plessis(24). A few overs later, Graeme Smith got to his second consecutive fifty in style with a trademark mow to mid-wicket that traveled to the fence. The in form AB de Villiers manipulated the strike well and injected a bit of urgency into the batting. The ex-captain in the company of his successor took the Proteas to 133-2 in 30 overs.

The well-set pair made hay in the batting powerplay plundering 44 runs. The right hander in particular was very enterprising and aggressive. His half-century came off just 47 deliveries. The flurry of fours from the blades of Smith and De Villiers put South Africa in the hunt for a 275+ total. Smith reached his first one day international century in 3 years with a nudge down to square leg on the last ball of the 40th over. The luxury of wickets in hand enabled the lethal combo to go berserk. Smith announced the 150 of the partnership with a flat, brutal six over mid-wicket. Even 'Slinga' Malinga took a pasting during the run-riot. The World Number 2 batsman in the limited overs format, AB, raced to an entertaining century after the dismissal of Smith (125). Albie Morkel wasted no time and struck a few boundaries to rub salt into the Lankan wounds. Although Albie(18) was run-out, the unstoppable De Villiers pushed South Africa past the 300 mark.

Chasing 313, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga ensured that the islanders got off to a resounding start. The southpaw, dropped by Morne Morkel in his follow through during the 3rd over, was in a murderous mood and dealt in boundaries. His partner, Dilshan for a change was quite happy to play the second fiddle to Tharanga. The Proteas quicks were guilty of bowling short and wide which made the openers' work a lot easier. Rain then held up play to halt proceedings with the score-board reading 57-0 in 7.1 overs.

The uninhibited Tharanga (46) fell moments after after play resumed. Lonwabo Tsotsobe's slower delivery hoodwinked the 26 year old and JP Duminy pulled off a sensational running catch. The likes of Robin Petersen and Albie Morkel cashed in to squeeze the flow of runs.

However, the advent of the bowling powerplay let the islanders play their shots. Sangakkara's authoritative pull shot off Parnell in the 18th over indicated that he was in fine nick. Tsotsobe struck again to signal the end of the 47 run stand by having Dilshan caught behind for 41. With the threat of another downpour looming large, the Lankan Lions managed to stay ahead of the Duckworth Lewis par score. Sanga and Chandimal milked the bowling and rebuilt the innings in a steady fashion. Chandimal (20) then top-edged Parnell to the keeper to leave Sri Lanka at 175-3 in 30 overs. In the interim, Sangakkara completed his 68th ODI fifty.

The under-rated Thirumane and Sangakkara maintained the asking rate below 7. All eyes were on the batting powerplay that would have a decisive influence of the outcome of the match. The 5 over window saw Sri Lanka smash 43 runs without losing any wickets. Thirumane played smart cricket while the veteran Sangakkara kept finding the odd boundary to calm the nerves in the Lankan camp. The Lankan warhorse galloped to his first hundred of the series by means of an elegant boundary past square leg in the 44th over. But the hosts were provided a lifeline when Sangakkara(102) and Angelo Mathews(6) fell in quick succession. The Lankan batting line up collapsed from there on. Thisara Perera(2) did not get enough elevation and sent a gentle full-toss off Duminy right down the throat of mid-wicket.

The equation finally came down to 6 from the last over. Astonishingly the creative AB de Villiers tossed the ball over to slow left arm spinner, Robin Petersen. He responded brilliantly by removing both Kulasekara(0) and Thirumane(69) on his first three balls. Senanayake, coming in ahead of Malinga though sealed the game with a six to guide Sri Lanka to a thrilling 2 wicket win with a ball to spare.

The Sri Lankans will now travel to the Kangaroo nation to join their fellow World Cup finalists, India and hosts Australia for a triangular ODI tournament. Meanwhile, the Proteas will have a few weeks off before they pack their bags for a challenging New Zealand tour.

Teams:

South Africa: A Petersen, G Smith, C Ingram, AB de Villiers(captain&keeper), JP Duminy, F du Plessis, A Morkel, R Petersen, W Parnell, L Tsotsobe, M Morkel.

Sri Lanka: U Tharanga, T Dilshan(captain), K Sangakkara(keeper), D Chandimal, L Thirumane, A Mathews, T Perera, N Kulasekara, L Malinga, R Herath, S. Senanayake.

Mini-Scorecard:

South Africa: 312-4 (50 overs, 6.24 rpo)
G Smith 125(143) L Malinga 2-79
AB de Villiers 125*(98) S Senanayake 1-50

Sri Lanka: 314-8 (50 overs, 6.30 rpo)
K Sangakkara 102(97) R Petersen 2-38
L Thirumane 69(63) W Parnell 2-51

Sri Lanka won by 2 wickets.

File Photograph Copyright: ICC World T20