Sri Lanka crashed to 43 all out to equal the fourth lowest total in one-day international history on Wednesday and lose by a huge 258-run margin to South Africa in the opening game of their five-match series. Morne Morkel took 4-10 and Lonwabo Tsotsobe 3-19 to rip through Sri Lanka s lineup as South Africa won by the third biggest victory margin by runs in ODIs after having made 301-8 batting first. Sri Lanka lost Upul Tharanga off the second ball of the innings and opening partner Tillakaratne Dilshan off the eighth both for ducks in a terrible start for the tourists on the way to their lowest-ever ODI score. Wickets tumbled rapidly with Dinesh Chandimal out in the fourth over. Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews fell within three balls in the fifth, and Mahela Jayawardene flashed a cut shot straight to Faf du Plessis at point in the eighth as the tourists fell to 13-6. Kosala Kulasekara top-scored with 19 in just his second ODI and was the only player to reach double figures for Sri Lanka. The ninth-wicket pair of Kosala and Nuwan Kulasekara were needed to drag Sri Lanka past the lowest-ever total of 35, set when Sri Lanka bowled out Zimbabwe in 2004. But left-arm spinner Robin Peterson picked up two late wickets to take 2-5 and end the Sri Lankan innings in just 20.1 overs. Earlier, Hashim Amla s 112 drove South Africa to its big total, despite Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga claiming 5-53. Amla shared a 144-run partnership with Jacques Kallis (72) and a 91-run stand with AB de Villiers (52) after Malinga struck in the third over to remove Graeme Smith. Amla hit eight fours for 112 off 128 deliveries his ninth ODI hundred and De Villiers made a rapid half-century off just 40 balls in his first game as ODI skipper. But Malinga returned with a typically devastating spell near the end to remove Amla, Albie Morkel (25), Du Plessis and Dale Steyn to slow South Africa s scoring. Malinga dismissed Du Plessis and Steyn in the final over for his fifth five-wicket ODI haul as South Africa faded from 244-3 when De Villiers went. But the captain still led South Africa to its second-biggest win ever after batting first in a one-day international.
