2019 Cricket World Cup: South Africa destroy Sri Lanka - and help the Black Caps

Remove one more side from the Black Caps' list of semifinal rivals.

A World Cup semifinal spot seems a long way off for a Sri Lanka lineup that lost its captain on the first ball and then slumped to a nine-wicket loss to South Africa at Durham.

While Sri Lanka can still make the semifinals, they now cannot pass the Black Caps, sitting five points behind New Zealand with just two games to go. That leaves just England, and one of Bangladesh or Pakistan, as the teams who can bump the Black Caps out of the semifinals.

In Durham, there was a bit of a buzz for a while, but it didn't last long. A swarm of bees halted the game in the 48th over. All the players and both umpires went to ground, face down, to avoid any stings before play continued and Sri Lanka was quickly dismissed for 203.

South Africa lost only one wicket — Quinton de Kock (15) bowled by a trademark Lasith Malinga yorker — in coasting to victory with more than 12 overs to spare.

Skipper Faf du Plessis scored 96 and Hashim Amla was 80 in an unbeaten 175-run stand, easily South Africa's best of the tournament. Du Plessis posted his third half-century of the tournament with a single from Suranga Lakmal, then drove the next delivery over temporary broadcasting scaffolding and out of the ground, requiring a used replacement ball for the rest of the match.

Amla was on 68 when was given out lbw to Jeevan Mendis with the total at 166-1. The veteran opener had just about left the field when his referral to the TV umpire confirmed the ball pitched outside leg stump and he had to make his way back to the crease.

The South Africans were already out of semifinal contention after winning just one of their first seven games, but had won 16 of their previous 18 ODIs against Sri Lanka and got on top quickly.

Sri Lanka can still reach the semis, but needs to win its remaining group games against West Indies and India and rely on other results going its way.

- With AP