Sri Lanka 304 for 5 (Dilshan 87, Perera 69*, Chandimal 59) beat South Africa 299 for 7 (de Villiers 96, Smith 68) by five wickets

It took Sri Lanka three consecutive defeats to get their batsmen firing in unison. Tillakaratne Dilshan finally played with freedom to give the chase momentum,Tillakaratne Dilshan cuts during his half-century, South Africa v Sri Lanka, 4th ODI, Kimberley, January 20, 2012

Dinesh Chandimal anchored it in the middle overs, and Thisara Perera stunned South Africa with sustained hitting to overhaul a stiff target in Kimberley. Perera had also struck crucial blows earlier with the ball, making South Africa lose their way in the final quarter of their innings, when 350 had looked achievable at one stage.

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• This is the sixth time overall and the first time against South Africa that Sri Lanka have managed to chase down a target of 300 or more. It is also their first successful chase over 300 since their win over India in Nagpur in 2009.
• South Africa suffered their first defeat at the venue in six matches. It is also the first time they have batted first in Kimberley. In their previous meeting against Sri Lanka at the venue in 2002, they won by eight wickets.
• Thisara Perera's 69 came off only 44 balls. The strike rate of 156.81 is the highest for a Sri Lankan batsman against South Africa for an innings of fifty or over. It is also his first half-century in ODIs.
• Tillakaratne Dilshan scored only his third half-centurysince the World Cup. In 20 innings, he has scored just 399 runs at 19.95.
• AB de Villiers' 96 is the second-highest score by a South African captain in a defeat after Graeme Smith's 141 against England in 2009. de Villiers' strike rate of 126.31 is second on the list of top strike rates for fifty-plus innings by South African captains in losses. Source : Cricinfo.com

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