It’s fun taking wickets, says Dale
SOUTH AFRICA ended the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka 170 runs ahead, and with six second innings wickets in hand. Slow surface or not, this opening Test is rattling along at a fair, old rate.
The headline act on day two was Dale Steyn, who drew level with England’s Stuart Broad on the all-time list for wicket takers in Test cricket. He ended with figures of 4/48 in 20 overs, including one spell of 10 overs on the spin.
“Sh**, it’s hard hey. But anyway, that’s just how it is,” Steyn said of the marathon spell that saw him sit on 437 Test scalps.
“When I am bowling 10-over spells, it shows that I am enjoying doing what I do. I could take the easy option; take 4/30 and go and stand at fine leg, and say ‘someone else do it’.
“But it’s fun. It’s fun bowling, it’s fun taking wickets and it’s fun hitting guys on the head!”
It is only one of a handful of occasions that he has bowled for that long in a spell, but his pace and aggression never relented. And, accordingly, his skipper Faf du Plessis stopped asking if he was okay to carry on after doing so at the end of his sixth. Sometimes you have to let the great ones write their own rules.
“It feels like I have started over again, since breaking (Shaun) Polly’s record,” Steyn said of his record-breaking numbers.
He didn’t even flinch when Dean Elgar grassed a straightforward chance at gully, which would have handed him a 27th five-wicket haul – and his first since August 2016 against New Zealand.
“Test cricket is hard. Nothing should come easy. Fifers shouldn’t come easy, and no catch is easy, either. It doesn’t matter how easy people make them out to be. We will just try again in the second innings,” Steyn smiled.
The enjoyment of these days, when even Steyn himself admits to not knowing when they will end, is clear on his face. Tired as he was, he was still beaming, and fully engrossed in the challenge at hand. SA may yet get considerably more mileage out of their classic sports car at the top of the speed charts.
Steyn also paid tribute to Sri Lanka’s resolve, because it would have been easy for the tourists to step towards square-leg, and let the Steyn train charge through them. Instead, they took it – literally – on the body, and scraped, sliced and bunted their way to 191, giving SA a lead of 44.
It could easily have been 80-odd, if they didn’t show character. But, there Sir Lanka stood, with Kusal Perera digging out a feisty 51, and Dhananjaya de Silva (23) and Lasith Embuldeniya adding a characterful 24 to the cause in the tail.
Steyn warned that SA would have to step it up today. They are far from secure, and they need at least one, significant partnership to reach a point of comfort against a gutsy opposition.
Du Plessis (25 not out) and first innings mainstay Quinton de Kock on 15, will resume on the third morning, trying to bring some normality to a frenetic match. A lot has happened in just two days. SOUTH AFRICA VS SRI LANKA
South Africa lead Sri Lanka by 170 runs with 6 wickets remaining
South Africa 1st innings 235 all out
Sri Lanka 1st innings
D Karunaratne lbw Vernon Philander 30 L Thirimanne c Q de Kock b D Steyn 0 O Fernando lbw D Steyn 19 K Mendis c F du Plessis b V Philander 12 K Perera c (Sub) b D Steyn 51 N Dickwella c D Steyn b D Olivier 8 D de Silva c D Olivier b K Rabada 23 S Lakmal c A Markram b Dale Steyn 4 L Embuldeniya c D Steyn b K Rabada 24 K Rajitha run out A Markram 12 Vishwa Fernando not out 1 Extras 3b 3lb 0nb 0pen 1w 7 Total (59.2 overs) 191 all out Fall of Wickets : 1-19 Thirimanne, 2-51 Fernando, 3-53 Karunaratne, 4-76 Mendis, 5-90 Dickwella, 6-133 de Silva, 7-142 Lakmal, 8-152 Perera, 9-184 Rajitha, 10-191 Embuldeniya
Bowling
D Steyn 20-7-48-4 -2.40, V Philander 10-2-322-3.20, K Rabada 12.2 -2 -48 -2 -3.89, D Olivier 13 -2 -36 -1 2.77 1w, K Maharaj 3 -0-16-0-5.33, D Elgar 1-0-5-0-5.00
South Africa 2nd innings
D Elgar c&b L Embuldeniya
A Markram c K Mendis b Kasun Rajitha H Amla c L Thirimanne b Vishwa Fernando T Bavuma lbw L Embuldeniya
F Plessis Not Out
Quinton de Kock Not Out
Extras 0b 2lb 1nb 0pen 1w
Total (37.0 overs) 126-4
Fall of Wickets : 1-36 Markram, 2-70 Amla, 3-77 Bavuma, 4-95 Elgar
To Bat : Philander, Maharaj, Rabada, Steyn, Olivier
Bowling
Suranga Lakmal 9-1-25-0-2.78 Vishwa Fernando 9 -1-32-1 -3.56 1w Kasun Rajitha 7-1-31 -1-4.43 1nb Lasith Embuldeniya 12-1-36-2-3.00 35 28 16 3 25 15 4