The Sri Lanka-South Africa game is what limited overs cricket is all about, where the result of the match is in doubt till the last ball. It appeared as if the Sri Lankans had not put up enough runs on the board when they were all out for 209 with the last few wickets falling in a heap. Apart from the gutsy Dilshan and Arnold, the main Sri Lankan batsmen floundered against the seam of Langeveldt who took five wickets and the pressure exerted by Pollock’s accuracy and Ntini’s pace. The South African fielding also was top class where they blocked the singles from being stolen and with not too many boundary balls on offer, the Lankans had a problem trying to accelerate.

At one stage it looked like South Africa were wasting to a win with the skipper Smith batting well again and Kallis too showing why he is rated so highly in both forms of the game. But after their dismissals Malinga bowled like the wind in taking four wickets off four balls and bringing Sri Lanka right back in the game. It was a snick that got Proteas the winning runs and with that they may well have shrugged off the tag of ‘chokers’, for on previous occasions especially in the World Cups they have lost close games.

My Man of the Match is Lasith Malinga. Not only did he become the fifth bowler to take a hattrick in the World Cup but the first to take four wickets off four deliveries. His slinging action always has the good batsmen in trouble so the tail-enders barely survive against him. It was his burst of bowling that turned a dull game into a cliffhanger and that’s why he is my Man of the Match.