Proteas set for victory
‘CONFIDENT’: DESPITE BATTING COLLAPSE, CONDITIONS NOW FAVOUR SA
South Africa go into the penultimate day of the first Test against Sri Lanka needing seven wickets for victory, and they have 221 runs to play with at Kingsmead.
Sri Lanka, chasing 304 for a shock win, will resume today on 83/3 with debutant Oshada Fernando on 28 not out and Kusal Perera unbeaten on 12.
According to fast bowler Duanne Olivier, the Proteas are “quite confident” of wrapping up victory today. In their favour is the Kingsmead pitch is still doing a bit, both for pacemen and spinners, and when one wicket falls, several have tended to follow.
Sri Lanka had started their second innings in solid fashion, captain Dimuth Karunaratne (20) and Lahiru Thirimanne (21) putting on 42 for the first wicket.
But once Thirimanne edged Kagiso Rabada into the slips, Karunaratne followed in the next over, trapped lbw by Vernon Philander for the second time in the match, reviews confirming both decisions were only marginally umpire’s call.
Kusal Mendis then suffered a brain fade two overs later as he tried to ramp a Duanne Olivier delivery above his head and was caught behind before getting off the mark.
The Proteas had suffered an even more calamitous collapse as their last five wickets tumbled for eight runs to see them bowled out for 259. Before that, SA had been well on top as Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock added 96 for the fifth wicket.
Having resumed on 126/4, the match still in the balance, De Kock set the early tone with a series of precise straight and ondrives, cruising to 55 off 62 balls before debutant left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya landed the ball right in a footmark, and the left-hander was trapped lbw as the delivery jagged back into him and kept low.
But skipper Du Plessis was in control and he and Philander (18) added another 60 for the sixth wicket as the Proteas lost just one wicket and added 101 runs in the crucial morning session.
Philander also fell to Embuldeniya, but Du Plessis looked on course for his second century in successive Tests, reaching a determined 90, before he misjudged left-arm swing bowler Vishwa Fernando and was trapped lbw shouldering arms.
The pair of left-arm bowlers then ripped through the rest with Embuldeniya claiming five for 66 in 26 excellent overs, while Vishwa took another four-wicket haul, four for 71.
Nevertheless, SA are still the odds-on favourites and Olivier said patience would be their key focus today.
“We just need to do the basics well, over and over again, and be patient. It’s probably their gameplan to go for their shots, which brings us into the game, gives us the chance to take wickets. If we graft hard then we will get our reward later on. This is a different pitch than against Pakistan, it’s a bit slower, but we just need to land the ball in good areas because there’s a bit more nip and they even got a bit of swing.
“The bounce is slower but we just need to bowl the right line. I understand my role and what I need to do, it was similar against Pakistan, just to be relentless, stay patient, and I do enjoy doing that. Our whole bowling unit has stuck to their guns,” Olivier said.