An opening stand of 116 between Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla enabled South Africa to beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets via the D/L Method in a World Cup warm-up match in Christchurch on Monday.

De Kock batted himself into form with a solid 66 (off 55 balls) after missing the recent series against the West Indies due to an ankle injury.

Amla looked good with 46 from 40 balls, while captain AB de Villiers missed out as a precautionary measure due to tightness in his hip.

Sri Lanka managed 279/7 in 44.4 overs in a rain-affected game. Tillakaratne Dilshan scored 100 off 83 balls and was well supported by Angelo Mathews (58 off 49). Kyle Abbott was South Africa’s best bowler with 3-37, with Wayne Parnell (2-44), Vernon Philander (1-24) and Imran Tahir (1-46) also among the wickets.

The Proteas’ target was adjusted to 188 in 25 overs according to the Duckworth-Lewis Method. They lost regular wickets after De Kock and Amla’s departure, but Rilee Rossouw and Philander managed to bat through and secure a victory with three balls to spare.

South Africa’s next warm-up match is on Wednesday against New Zealand.

SCORES

Sri Lanka 279-7 in 44.4 overs (Tillakaratne Dilshan 100; Kyle Abbott 3-37, Wayne Parnell 2-44, Vernon Philander 1-24, Imran Tahir 1-46).
South Africa 188-5 in 24.5 overs (Quinton de Kock 66, Hashim Amla 46, Faf du Plessis 19, JP Duminy 17, Rilee Rossouw 16*, Vernon Philander 13*, David Miller 4).