Proteas try to pull out of tailspin
Crafty Herath warns that conditions for test in Colombo similar to those of Galle humbling
It’s dry. It will be more of a spin-friendly surface
Colombo – Rangana Herath warned South Africa yesterday to expect yet more spin in the second test after the visitors were skittled for their lowest total since the Proteas’ readmission to international cricket. Sri Lanka are chasing their first test series win against the Proteas since 2006 and need just a draw to clinch the honours against the worl d’s second ranked test side. South Africa lost the opening test in Galle inside three days after being dispatched for 126 in the first innings and 73 in the second. Herath said pitch conditions were ripe for a repeat of last week’s drubbing, in which the left-arm spinner took five wickets and offspinner Dilruwan Perera returned overall match figures of 10/78. “If you see the surface, it’s dry. It will be more of a spin friendly surface,” the 40year-old veteran spinner said ahead of the final test starting today in Colombo. “We have Dilruwan [Perera] and if we require we also have Dhananjaya [de Silva]. He couldn’t bowl in Galle, but he is certainly ready to bowl during games,” Herath told reporters. Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis top-scored with a gritty 49 while paceman Kagiso Rabada impressed with four wickets in Sri Lanka’s first innings. Rabada, who returned figures of 4/50, was ably supported by fellow seamers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander in their first innings to bowl out the hosts for 287 runs, more than half of which were notched up by Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karnaratne. Du Plessis said his team will rely on their pace bowlers to come back hard at the hosts. “If it doesn’t rain, then we will have a dangerous weapon in our fast bowlers. Once again we have to make a call as to whether we are playing three seamers or two spinners,” Du Plessis said. Du Plessis added that South Africa were aiming to conquer local conditions in their bid to overtake India – who are about to embark on a five-test series in England – and become the number one test side. –