SL take big lead despite Amla’s long vigil

COLOMBO: Captain Hashim Amla struck a gritty 139 not out but failed to stop Sri Lanka from taking the driver’s seat in the second and final Test against South Africa on Saturday.

Amla, 31, batted for more than eight hours to frustrate the Sri Lankan spinners who shared nine wickets between them to bowl out South Africa for 282 in their first innings. Sri Lanka, who made 421 in their first essay, were 11-0 at stumps in their second innings on the third day for an overall lead of 150. Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera (5-69) grabbed a five-wicket haul, his second in five Tests, while leftarmer Rangana Herath chipped in with 4-71. None of the batsmen, barring Amla, could even make a half-century.

BRIEF SCORES

Sri Lanka 421 and 11/0 vs South Africa 282 (H Amla 139*, D Perera 5/69, R Herath 4/71) BCCI TO HOLD ONE-DAY EVENTS AHEAD OF WC MUMBAI: The BCCI decided on Saturday to conduct the domestic one-day tournaments — the inter-state Vijay Hazare and inter-zonal Deodhar Trophy — ahead of the Ranji season to enable fringe players to stake claim in the squad for the World Cup in February-March next year.

The recommendation by the BCCI technical committee will have to be ratified by the working committee. The CK Nayudu Trophy U-25 tournament will become a U-23 event. Due to a crowded domestic calendar, the Challenger Trophy and BCCI Corporate Trophy events have been deferred to next year.

Meanwhile, venues for WI’s tour of India in Oct-Nov were also announced. Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad will stage the Tests, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Cuttack, Dharamsala and Kochi will host the ODIs and Delhi the T20 game.