Phehlukwayo relishing death-overs responsibility

COLOMBO: Andile Phehlukwayo experienced a timely boost to his bowling form, ending a four-match wicketless streak with figures of 3 for 45 to put South Africa on the cusp of an ODI series win in Sri Lanka.

South Africa’s designated fifth bowler made an ordinary beginning to the series conceding 30 from 3 overs in the first game at Dambulla before returning with an impressive outing in the second match at the same venue.

Particularly impressive was his assortment of knuckle and slower deliveries at the death that left the hosts with a significantly subpar total of 244. The 22-year-old said he relished the opportunity to bowl at the death and attributed the turnaround in form to a chat with head coach Ottis Gibson.

“Personally, I went back to look at the footage with the coach to see if there was anything I could have gained or improved on from the first match,” he said. Phehlukwayo experienced the other gamut of the death overs when he was called on to close out the chase with the bat and held his nerve along with fellow all-rounder Willem Mulder just when the turning conditions appeared to give Sri Lanka an outside chance of pushing for a victory.“It was my first time coming out to bat this tour, it was a bit tricky, the first few balls turned and ripped quite a lot,” he explained.