Clinical South Africa send Sri Lanka home

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2015But Kyle Abbott, brought in for Vernon Philander, eased the nerves by removing Kusal Perera•Getty ImagesDale Steyn burst through the opening created when he dismissed Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sri Lanka were 4 for 2•Getty ImagesLahiru Thirimanne looked good for 41 off 48 balls and was set to lead Sri Lanka’s counterattack when…•Getty Images… Imran Tahir had him caught and bowled•ICCSri Lanka lost their aggressor, the pressure piled back on them and Mahela Jayawardene was consumed for 4 off 16•Getty ImagesWith Sri Lanka at 115 for 4 and on the mat in the 32nd over, JP Duminy shackled them there with a hat-trick•Associated PressKumar Sangakkara had dropped anchor, hoping to ride through the hostility of the South African attack, but the plan backfired. He was the ninth man out for 45 off 96 balls•Getty ImagesA brief spell of rain was Sri Lanka’s only respite, but they were bundled out for 133 soon after•Getty ImagesSouth Africa started brightly but lost Hashim Amla in the seventh over with the score on 40•Getty ImagesQuinton de Kock, however, looked in cracking touch and raced to 50 off 39 balls•Getty ImagesFaf du Plessis provided him good support in a 94-run second-wicket stand…•AFP… as de Kock eventually clinched victory with a four. He remained unbeaten on 78 off 57 deliveries•Getty ImagesIt meant Sri Lanka had to bid farewell to two of their heroes – Sangakkara, with 14234 runs and 25 hundreds in 404 games•Getty ImagesAnd Jayawardene with 12650 runs and 19 tons from 448 ODIs•Getty ImagesThe game finally marked the end of 23 years of agony for South Africa at World Cup knockouts•ESPNcricinfo Ltd