South Africa, led by Roelof van der Merwe and Wayne Parnell with the ball and AB de Villiers with the bat, recovered from their opening-game loss to beat New Zealand in Centurion. New Zealand struggled to put up runs after being put in under slightly overcast conditions, with van der Merwe starring with ten cunning overs while Parnell claimed five wickets.

Ross Taylor played a responsible innings that gave New Zealand stability after they were reduced to 92 for 3, but losing their last seven wickets for 51 was a crime. With this win, impossible without de Villiers’ cool half-century, Group B is now wide open with England yet to play a match.

The pitch was the same one used a couple of days ago when South Africa were mauled by Sri Lanka, but the result was very different. Early on it offered more pace and bounce than the track on which Tillakaratne Dilshan blazed away, but as the afternoon wore on stroke play became increasingly tougher, especially against the older ball. By the time New Zealand were midway into their innings, after Parnell took two early wickets, the spinners found appreciable bounce and the abrasive nature of the pitch made the ball grip the surface.

van der Merwe and Johan Botha bowled with control and the effort was complemented by the attacking fields Graeme Smith set, which played a major role in suffocating the batsmen. Runs came at a trickle with New Zealand managing just 72 between the 15th and 35th overs. During that span, the spinners conceded just three boundaries.

Taylor had a few close shaves against van der Merwe but overcame his nerves to play a substantial role. He was pleasing when cracking the ball in the arc between point and gully but more than those odd field perforations his contribution was valuable for the manner in which he shored up the pressure of seeing New Zealand through difficulty. Grant Elliott had his moments of indecision when balls from van der Merwe just about missed the edge of the bat, yet managed to pierce the wall of fielders with some excellent shots through cover.

His dismissal for 39, bowled by a peach from van der Merwe, snapped a 71-run stand and allowed South Africa back spectacularly. The last five fell for 11 runs in 18 balls, with Parnell nipping out three in the batting Powerplay, and that decided the match. Taylor had carried the innings but the lack of sizeable partnerships hurt them: there were four stands of 30 or more, but none topped 71 as South Africa plugged away. The bowlers did a fine job, and the sharp turn the spinners achieved suggested that batting in the evening would be even more difficult.

This is where de Villiers made the difference. Smith failed to get going, chipping Daryl Tuffey to mid-on, after which Jacques Kallis briefly put New Zealand on the back foot. Kallis biffed a 39-ball 36, batting as if the world was his stage, but his dismissal left de Villiers to shepherd the chase.

Warning of de Villiers’ intentions came early with two sumptuous drives down the ground off Daryl Tuffey. He didn’t lag thereafter, embellishing his presence with lovely clips off the pads and excellent judgment of singles and doubles. Daniel Vettori got sharp bite and used his arm ball well, and it was with one that gently turned that he sent Hashim Amla on his way for 38 from 65 deliveries. Kyle Mills returned and was the beneficiary of a wicket as an attempted cut from JP Duminy went off the bottom edge and Brendon McCullum took a sharp catch.

de Villiers refused to panic. He collected the singles, punished the loose balls, and didn’t buckle under the pressure exerted by a tight spell from Vettori. Singles were vital to South Africa’s progress yet sporadically, to give the fans something to purr about, de Villiers found the boundary. He brought up his 19th ODI fifty off 54 balls and Mark Boucher seemed set to seal the win with him until he lost his concentration in the 36th over. South Africa, though, already had the game wrapped up.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

Pakistan began their Champions Trophy campaign with a five-wicket victory over the West Indies at The Wanderers.

Three wickets apiece for Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul looked to have set Pakistan up for an easy win after they bowled their opponents out for a paltry 133 in 34.3 overs – Nikita Miller (51) the mainstay for the Windies with his maiden half-century.

But Gavin Tonge (four for 25) posed a constant threat, reducing Pakistan to 76 for five at one stage before Umar Akmal (41 not out) and Shahid Afridi (17 not out) led their side home with almost 20 overs to spare.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, the second-string Caribbean team – missing all their household names due to a contractual dispute with their board which has since been resolved – began poorly, losing Dale Richards (one) after just six balls when he pushed a return catch to Aamer (three for 24).

His fellow opener was next to go, and after lifting Rana Naved-ul-Hasan over his head for a four, he succumbed to the same bowler four balls later, caught by Imran Nazir at backward point for seven.

Aamer then had Travis Dowlin (nought) caught behind in the next over as the West Indians slumped to 14 for three.

Captain Floyd Reifer then joined Devon Smith as the pair tried to steady the ship, but after putting on 22, the latter edged Gul (three for 28) to Umar Akmal at second slip for 18.

David Bernard (six) then saw his off-stump uprooted by Aamer, followed by the wicket of the skipper, who edged Gul to Misbah-ul-Haq at first slip for seven.

Chadwick Walton (nought) was trapped leg before wicket off the very next delivery, but Miller confidently drove the hat-trick ball away through the covers for four.

A 38-run partnership then followed before Darren Sammy (25) was bowled by Saeed Ajmal (two for 16).

The batting powerplay was then taken and Miller made the most of it, taking three fours off Ajmal’s second over to help his side pass the 100 mark in the 27th over.

He lost partner Tino Best (eight), stumped by Kamran Akmal off Ajmal, but went on to raise his 50 from 51 balls.

But with partners fast running out, he went for one shot too many and perished to Afridi to bring the innings to a close with more than 15 overs remaining.

In response, the World Twenty20 champions lost two early wickets – both to the lively Tonge, who bowled Nazir (five) with his first ball and then enticed Kamran Akmal (five) into a big waft that was edged behind to Walton.

But Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf calmed nerves by taking Pakistan to the supper break at 35 for two.

After the resumption Tonge and his wicketkeeper twice combined to get rid of the pair – both for scores of 23 – while Bernard accounted for Misbah (six) in the same way as Pakistan slumped to 76 for five in the 23rd over.

There was no twist in the tale, though, with Umar Akmal and Afridi guiding their side over the line with an unbeaten 58-run stand.

The teams:

Pakistan: Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal†, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi*, Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal

West Indies: DM Richards, ADS Fletcher, DS Smith, TM Dowlin, FL Reifer*, DE Bernard, DJG Sammy, CAK Walton†, NO Miller, TL Best, GC Tonge

Source: ESPNStar

Sri Lanka 319 for 8 (Dilshan 106, Jayawardene 77, Sangakkara 54) beat South Africa 206 for 7 (Smith 58, Mendis 3-30) by 55 runs (D/L)…

Led by a blazing century from Tillakaratne Dilshan and a brace of cameos, the world’s No. 5 team started their Champions Trophy campaign in fine style by beating the top-ranked side. Graeme Smith’s decision to field was based on the lack of dew in the afternoon but none of the bowlers, barring Dale Steyn, made an impression. Dilshan’s 92-ball 106, coupled with significant inputs from captains past and present, lifted them to a daunting total that was well beyond South Africa.

Sri Lanka carried the energy from their powerful batting display into the field and Ajantha Mendis, unlike the home side’s spinners, extracted bounce and turn under lights. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis showed signs of dominance with an 81-run stand in quick time but once Smith was bowled off Mendis’ first delivery, and Kallis and JP Duminy fell in successive balls, Sri Lanka could apply the chokehold.

Smith had a smile on his face when the toss went his way and Steyn nipped out Sanath Jayasuriya, but it was soon replaced by a frown. In a 158-run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, who provided solid support with 54 from 74 balls, Dilshan played anchor and aggressor in equal measure. The first to feel Dilshan’s force was Wayne Parnell, preferred to Makhaya Ntini; he struggled to hit a consistent length and went for 39 in five overs. It was a recurring trend in those early overs, Parnell dragging the ball down and Dilshan finding the deep point and midwicket boundaries. Albie Morkel was thrashed for 22 in two overs as Sri Lanka reached 100 in the 13th over.

The onslaught forced Smith, who refused to delay the Powerplay, to turn to his spin pair to try and stop the destruction. The pair stemmed the flow of boundaries but lacked bite and Sri Lanka ticked along at over six an over. Dabs, drives, flicks, shots off angled bats, and punches all evaded fielders and Sangakkara brought up his first half-century since February. He fell to an innocuous delivery from Duminy, after which Dilshan’s boundary blasting – he hit 16 fours and a six – ended when he slashed the first ball of Steyn’s return over to third man.

Sri Lanka used the platform extremely well and crossed 300 thanks largely to Mahela Jayawardene’s 77 off 61. He was his usual deft self: cutting, nudging and pushing into the gaps with excellent timing. His feet constantly moved as he made room to create singles and, with Thilan Samaraweera playing in a similar vein, Sri Lanka pressed ahead. Before South Africa knew it Jayawardene was on 41 off 40 balls – the majority of those runs coming from controlled paddles and sweeps – and the stage was set for a late surge; the final ten overs cost 85. Parnell gave some respectability to his figures by dismissing Jayawardene and Samaraweera in successive deliveries though by then Sri Lanka were 297 for 5 in the 47th over.

Chasing more than a run a ball from the start, South Africa needed a strong platform. They were in early trouble when Hashim Amla was cleaned up by Angelo Mathews off an inside edge in the third over. Kallis joined Smith, looking leaner having shed a few kilos, and the pair milked the wayward Nuwan Kulasekara, who seemed to have contracted Parnell’s problem of bowling short. Kallis was quick to punish him and Kulasekara’s fifth over went for 14, with Smith particularly strong through the off side.

While Smith danced down the track at will and shuffled about to unsettle the fast bowlers, Kallis chose to clip the ball sweetly from the crease. Smith looked increasingly confident at the crease, but playing for a Mendis offbreak he missed one that skidded and hurried on and had his leg stump pegged back.

Mendis had again proved a valuable go-to man for his captain by ending the flourishing partnership. Smith’s bullish start hinted at the possibility of a Dilshan-style ambush, but inside four overs Mendis ripped the heart out of the batting order. Kallis showed glimpses of his class in compiling a brisk 41 before he was excellently caught at mid-off by a tumbling Mathews. Next ball, Duminy was castled by a flipper.

The required run-rate was already above seven at 113 for 4 in the 21st over, placing too much pressure on the rest of the order. Lasith Malinga, having bowled just one over at the start, returned to dismiss AB de Villiers and later snapped a gung-ho stand between Morkel and Johan Botha before rain interrupted the chase. At that stage Sri Lanka were well in command, and were later adjudged deserved winners.

Sri Lanka had previously lost only once after posting a 300-plus total in one-day internationals and, led by Mendis, the masters of asphyxiation struck. Adapting to early-season South African conditions superbly, Sri Lanka have taken the lead in showing that Asian teams are a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. South Africa, frustratingly, have shown again why their ability in multi-team tournaments has long been questioned.

Jamie Alter is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo