As I said before this years edition of ICC Champions trophy will be judged more by decision making ability and in this context SL'S got everything wrong. In my opinion SA'S were under more pressure compared to SL'S before the match even started and having said that it was purely with SL'S how they manage the show. After deciding on the team composition with additional cover in the bowling department, I thought they should have batted first after winning the toss. Infact SL'S should have controlled the situation with what they have in hand rather than pondering about the dew factor. If SL'S would have batted first I am pretty sure the pressure on SA'S would have increased double fold, firstly they would have to counter the batting ability of Lankan's. I am pretty sure at the back of his mind Smith would have been thinking more of containment rather than aggression in the field. I feel SL'S missed the ploy and paid the penalty. Infact after setting the score it seems the SA'S were more relaxed mentally on the field that really lifted their game to higher level and suddenly after few overs from SA'S it was SL'S who were under pressure and finally it turned out to be disaster for SL team but having said that I should say SA really bowled and fielded beautifully. All in all a match with high standard of bowling and fielding from both sides. Now the equation of who is going to qualify for the semi-final rests in the hand of Pakistan. If Pakistan wins all the match then NRR will come into play but to me it seems SL'S lost the chance and in all probablity are out of the reckoning for a semi-final berth.
The bowler who missed the ball when Gibbs threw it to the bowler's end was Kallis and not Ntini .. as reported by the errant reporter of the article ..
bt a nice effort by the Proteas to edge out the Lankans..
