Proteas on top as Sri Lanka fall
Visitors under pressure as SA bowlers let rip
BAD light came to Sri Lanka’s rescue as South Africa’s pace bowlers exploited the visitor’s weakness against the short ball.
Kusal Mendis‚ Kaushal Silva and Dhananjaya de Silva were discomforted by the short stuff to a point where it contributed to their wickets as Sri Lanka closed the second day of the third Test on 80/4 in response to South Africa’s strong first innings total of 426.
The batsmen’s inability to deal with anything above their waists undid the hard work put in by Nuwan Pradeep (4/78)‚ Lahiru Kumara (4/107) and Suranga Lakmal (0/80).
Lakmal’s 30 overs were some of the best by a Sri Lankan bowler since Chanaka Welegedara’s five/fer at Kingsmead in 2011. But fortune somehow eluded Lakmal.
On top of the costly Hashim Amla dropped catch on the first morning when he was on five‚ he agonisingly watched on when Mendis grassed an easy chance gifted by Faf du Plessis.
Pradeep was the beneficiary of that largesse when he dismissed both batsmen with wicked out swingers in a quality spell of bowling.
When Angelo Mathews got rid of Duanne Olivier (3) early in the day‚ the captain set in motion a collapse catalysed by Pradeep.
After Mendis atoned himself by taking a smart catch to get rid of Du Plessis (16) off Pradeep‚ three wickets fell in quick succession as the lanky fast bowlers found the edges of Temba Bavuma (0)‚ Amla (134) and Vernon Philander (0) to leave South Africa in an unexpected spot of bother at 378/8.
However‚ a game is not over until Quinton de Kock has a say. His belligerent 51-ball 34 dominated the 47-run ninth wicket stand between him and Wayne Parnell (23) that enabled South Africa to creep past the 400-mark.
Kumara’s expensive express pace was too much to resist as both southpaws holed out in the deep to Upul Tharanga and De Silva respectively.
It exposed Dimuth Karunaratne to the new ball and couldn’t see out Philander’s first over‚ surviving a third-ball review for a caught-behind before submitting himself to a similar dismissal the following ball.
Mendis (41) and Silva (13) displayed some admirable fight to take Sri Lanka to tea at 46/1 but Kagiso Rabada’s pace and hostility was too much for them.
Silva’s feet were glued to the crease when he edged behind to De Kock while Mendis couldn’t ride the bounce and popped an easy catch to J P Duminy at leg gully.
It was left to Sri Lanka’s two best batsmen in Mathews (11) and Dinesh Chandimal (3) and it’s with them where the visitors hopes of surviving the follow-on lie.
The 346 runs looks very distant at the moment and this is something Du Plessis will have to contemplate‚ especially with Saturday and Sunday being the Wanderers’ two best days of cricket.
It’ll be a crying shame if the game doesn’t get past three days but it’ll paint a picture of the dominance South Africa have exhibited with bat and ball.
The Gauteng Cricket Board may again find themselves having to count the cost of another three-day Test. — TMG Digital