| 0.0 : The supposedly 'Blockbuster Thursday' is upon us. Time for some Test cricket. Sri Lanka have returned home after getting mixed results in West Indies but will be without their regular skipper Dinesh Chandimal yet again (owing to ball-tampering controversy). Suranga Lakmal will have the command of the side and the hosts will hope he produces the same result as he did in Barbados not too long ago. South Africa, on the other hand, step into the era post AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel, and it's goi |
| Weather report - It was raining yesterday but it's clear at the moment. The conditions though remain overcast and it could influence the captains' decision at the toss. |
| Pitch report - Russel Arnold inspects the playing area. Tells that the groundsmen got very little time to prepare the pitch due to all the rains. Feels that it's a dry pitch with hardly any grass. You win the toss and bat first, reckons the former Sri Lankan spin bowling all-rounder. Also adds that the first day will be the best for batting. |
| Toss - Suranga Lakmal gets lucky with the coin-toss as Faf du Plessis calls it wrongly. SRI LANKA WILL BAT! |
| Sri Lanka skipper, Suranga Lakmal says that they will bat first and informs that Mathews and Herath come in the playing XI. Adds that they are going with three spinners and one fast bowler. |
| South Africa skipper, Faf du Plessis says the pitch looks dry and will be good for batting. Is banking on the overcast conditions now for early wickets and informs that they are playing three seamers and two spinners. He is satisfied with the preparations and is excited for this game. Admits that winning away from home is the real test and they are looking forward to it. |
| The players are out in the middle with the sun shining now. It's time for the national anthems. |
| All done and it's time to get going. The South African team gets in a quick huddle with Faf du Plessis sharing some words that he forgot to share in the dressing room. Has become a fashion nowadays. Out come the Sri Lankan openers now - Dimuth Karunaratne and Danushka Gunathilaka. Vernon Philander to bowl first up with three slips and a gully. Here we go... |
| 0.1 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Starts with a good length ball on middle. Not enough movement. Gunathilaka works it off his pads through backward square leg and gets off the mark. |
| 0.2 : V Philander to Karunaratne, This one is angled across the southpaw. Going further away with the seam outside off. Karunaratne allows it through. |
| 0.3 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Pitches it full and just around off, Dimuth is on the front foot as he pushes it with an angled bat to cover-point. |
| 0.4 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Lands it full again and in line of the stumps. Karunaratne gets it away from the inner half of the bat and it rolls through square leg for one. Both the openers are off the mark! |
| 0.5 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Huge appeal for a caught behind! The umpire though remains still. A delivery down the leg side, Gunathilaka tries to flick but fails to middle it properly. Quinton de Kock collects the ball and lets out a big appeal. The bowler also joins but nothing from the umpire. Faf du Plessis has a chat with Philander and de Kock but none looked entirely convinced and hence no DRS is used. Hello, the replays detect some sound and the Snicko shows a spike. Wow, an early repr |
| 0.6 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, In the channel outside off, Gunathilaka lets it through to the keeper. End of an eventful first over. |
| Dale Steyn is back and he will operate from the other end. |
| 1.1 : D Steyn to D Karunaratne, FOUR! Edgy! It's fuller in length and around off, Karunaratne with a tentative front foot movement tries playing with a straight bat but it takes the outside edge and speeds through slips and gully for a boundary. |
| 1.2 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Gets behind the line of the delivery nicely this time and defends it to the leg side. |
| 1.3 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Bowls it in the zone outside off, it's left alone. |
| 1.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Was there an edge? No appeal made though. Steyn angles across a length ball outside off, a hint of away shape after pitching, Karunaratne has a nervous poke inside the line and misses. There is some noise but the replays show that it's off the bat clipping the front pad. |
| 1.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Presses forward and drives it through the line. Finds mid off. |
| 1.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Back of a length delivery on middle, blocked off the back foot to finish the over. |
| 2.1 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, A length ball angling away from the batsman, it's pushed with an open-faced bat to cover-point. |
| 2.2 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Pitches it full and around off, Gunathilaka drives it down the ground, through the legs of his partner at the other end. Maharaj chases it from mid off as the ball slows down on a heavy outfield. A couple taken. |
| 2.3 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, A mishit. Full in length and on middle, Gunathilaka presents a straight bat and it takes the inside edge. Brushes his pads before rolling in front of mid on as they scamper across. Rabada attacks the ball and lets out a throw at the striker's end but no harm done. |
| 2.4 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Back of a length ball outside off, Dimuth plays it late past the right side of the point fielder and they take a couple again. The outfield is quite slow because of all the rain. |
| 2.5 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Good length ball on middle, defended on the leg side. |
| Down to two slips. |
| 2.6 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Angling away from the batsman outside off, Karunaratne lets it be. |
| 3.1 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Serves it on a length around off, it's defended from the crease to the off side. |
| 3.2 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Digs in a short ball on middle, not much life in this pitch and hence it goes on a good height to the batsman. Gunathilaka turns inside the crease to pull it but finds the fielder in front of square. |
| 3.3 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 3.4 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Shortish and outside off, stroked wide of the cover fielder for one. |
| 3.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 3.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Drops it on a length and just around off, it's blocked off the back foot to the off side. |
| 4.1 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, FOUR! Gunathilaka takes the off stump guard now rather than middle and leg as Philander switches to 'round the wicket. He sprays a full ball down the leg side and Danushka flicks it uppishly through square leg for a boundary. |
| 4.2 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Beauty! That's what Philander's aim is from this angle. Bowls it on a length around off and straightens it from there. Gunathilaka ends up pushing and missing inside the line. |
| 4.3 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Back of a length ball on off, angling in and hurrying up the batsman. Gunathilaka gets an inside edge onto the body as he tries to work it across the line. |
| 4.4 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Returns to over the wicket and serves it on a length around off. Danushka blocks it from the crease. |
| 4.5 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Slips a full ball down the leg side, some movement as it leaves the batsman and beats his attempted flick shot. |
| 4.6 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Hurls a length delivery in the corridor of uncertainty. It's allowed through to the keeper. |
| 5.1 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Fractionally short in length and outside off, Karunaratne punches it off his back foot through covers. A good confident shot, that. It slows down before the rope as the mid off fielder (Maharaj) chases it down. Three runs taken. |
| 5.2 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Identical to the last delivery. This time Danushka punches it on the up, not exactly timed well but still through the gap at covers. Maharaj is getting a nice cardio session at the moment as once again he chases it down from mid off. Three more runs added to the total. |
| 5.3 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Beaten! Some movement on this occasion. Steyn dishes out a back of a length ball outside off, shaping away, Karunaratne tries to punch it away but misses due to the excess movement. |
| 5.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Much better. Chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 5.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Once again Karunaratne lets a length ball go to the keeper. Not chasing any wide deliveries outside off. |
| 5.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Make it three leaves in a row to end the over. |
| 6.1 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, FOUR! Eased away! Philander errs in line and bowls it a bit short around middle and leg. Gunathilaka stands back inside the crease and glances it off his hips to the fine leg fence. |
| 6.2 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, FOUR! This is very poor bowling from Philander. Not getting his line right. Bowls it wide outside off, on a length, Gunathilaka smashes it off his back foot through cover-point and this time the ball trickles past the rope. |
| 6.3 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Fuller in length and around off, defended off the front foot. |
| 6.4 : V Philander to D Gunathilaka, Once again a confident front foot drive by Gunathilaka but he finds the mid off fielder. The pitch looks excellent for stroke-making with nothing much in it for the pacers. |
| 6.5 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 6.6 : V Philander to D Gunathilaka, Lands it on a length around off, moving away a shade, Gunathilaka pushes it with gentle hands through backward point and collects a couple of runs. It's a big over, 10 runs off it. |
| 7.1 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Serves it around off on a length, Karunaratne covers the line and defends it back. |
| 7.2 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Outside off, left alone. |
| 7.3 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, A length delivery on middle and off, defended from the crease. |
| 7.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Straighter in line, Dimuth eases it off his pads past the left side of the square leg umpire. A single taken. |
| 7.5 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Bangs in a bouncer, around middle, Gunathilaka picks it early and sways away from the line. |
| 7.6 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Good length ball around leg, worked off the pads to the leg side but straight to the fielder. |
| Here comes the first bowling change. The number one Test bowler, Kagiso Rabada is unleashed into the attack. Two slips in place for him. |
| 8.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Starts with a good length ball outside off, Karunaratne allows it through. |
| 8.2 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Bowls this one on middle and off, on a good length again, Karunaratne defends it from the crease. |
| 8.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Beaten! Delivers it with a scrambled seam but still it moves appreciably away from the batsman. Karunaratne has an area of vulnerability outside off as he pushes and misses. |
| 8.4 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Stays tall in his crease to a shortish ball and punches it past short extra cover for one. |
| 8.5 : K Rabada to D Gunathilaka, Lets out a fuller length ball on middle, it's pushed off the front foot to mid off. |
| 8.6 : K Rabada to Gunathilaka, Some movement again for Rabada as he lands it on a length around middle and off. Danushka does well to play it with soft hands towards gully. |
| 9.1 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Play and a miss! A zippy delivery, landing on a fuller length and skidding away. Karunaratne gets forward to push at it but misses. |
| 9.2 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, SIX! Nearly fell to the plan though, Dimuth. Steyn digs in a short delivery with two fielders back in the deep on the leg side. Karunaratne still wheels a pull shot and gets good enough connection to clear the rope at backward square leg. South Africa won't mind that much, if he keeps playing his shots. |
| 9.3 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 9.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Another bouncer by Steyn, this one though is too high and hence Karunaratne ducks. |
| 9.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Back of a length delivery on middle and leg, Karunaratne gets on this toes and defends it to mid-wicket. |
| 9.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Once again it's shortish and just outside off, Karunaratne plays it out from the crease to mid off. |
| 10.1 : K Rabada to Gunathilaka, In the channel outside off, Gunathilaka watchfully lets it through to the keeper. |
| 10.2 : K Rabada to D Gunathilaka, FOUR! Poor fielding at mid on. A fractionally short of a length delivery on off, Gunathilaka drags his pull shot from the front foot and it races off the inside half of the bat. Philander is lazy in putting a dive and does so after the ball has gone past him. A boundary results. |
| 10.3 : K Rabada to Gunathilaka, Stands back to a shortish ball and defends it to the off side. |
| 10.4 : K Rabada to Gunathilaka, OUT! Gone! Doesn't matter if there is life or not in the pitch, Rabada will get something going for him. Such is his class. Serves a good length delivery outside off and extracts some extra bounce. Gunathilaka is back footed as he tries to punch it through the line. But the ball reaches high on his bat, kisses the outside edge and de Kock grabs it with ease. Rabada is ecstatic as he celebrates with his teammates. The umpire after raising his finger quickly checks f |
| Dhananjaya de Silva is the number 3 batsman. |
| 10.5 : K Rabada to Silva, Appeal for a bat-pad! Nothing doing as far as Paul Reiffel is concerned. Good length ball on middle and angling down down. Dhananjaya tries to flick but seems to have missed. It goes off his thigh pad to short leg where Markram catches it and they appeal. Off the thigh pad and nothing off the bat, confirms the replay. |
| 10.6 : K Rabada to Silva, De Silva has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. End of a successful over for South Africa. |
| 11.1 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 11.2 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Short and pulled on the leg side for a single. |
| 11.3 : D Steyn to de Silva, Steyn delivers it on a full length around off, shaping in a bit, de Silva is caught inside the crease as he tries to defend. Gets a thick inside edge onto the pads. |
| 11.4 : D Steyn to Silva, Speedy delivery. Full and just outside off, Dhananjaya covers his stumps and shoulders arms. |
| 11.5 : D Steyn to Silva, Shortish and moving down the leg side, it's worked off the pads behind square leg for one. |
| 11.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Bouncer! The batsman ducks under it at the last moment. |
| Drinks break. A good first hour of this Test match. Runs came thick and fast earlier but then South African managed to pick the wicket of Karunaratne. They would have got Gunathilaka also had they used DRS in the first over. Nothing extravagant in the pitch for the pacers. Let's see if there is spin as and when South Africa bring Keshav Maharaj. |
| And here he comes... Keshav Maharaj to bowl! |
| 12.1 : K Maharaj to Silva, Flighted and very full around off, driven off the front foot and Maharaj dived to his left to make the stop. |
| 12.2 : K Maharaj to Silva, Presses forward to a full ball and drives it down to long off for a run. |
| 12.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Shout for an lbw! Not given. Sharp spin from around off, from a fuller length, Gunathilaka gets forward to defend but misses. He is hit on the pads, they appeal but the umpire shakes his head. No DRS taken. Faf probably feels that it's turning too much. The replays confirm the same. Would have spun down and clipping the leg stump at the most. |
| 12.4 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Charges down the track and knocks it down to long on for a run. |
| 12.5 : K Maharaj to Silva, Tossed up ball on off, defended off the front foot by Dhananjaya. |
| 12.6 : K Maharaj to Silva, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| Change of ends for Kagiso Rabada. He will be bowling from around the wicket for the left-hander... |
| 13.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, FOUR! Serves it on a back of a length outside off, Gunathilaka stands tall and punches it square of the wicket on the off side. If it's chase from a fielder, it has to be Maharaj today. Seems to have taken a contract for that. Although, this time the ball wins the race to the fence. The outfield is getting quickened up probably with the sun coming down. 50 comes up for Sri Lanka. |
| 13.2 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Fractionally short and on off, defended off the back foot to the off side. |
| 13.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Digs in a bouncer, Karunaratne ducks. |
| 13.4 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, FOUR! Streaky. Karunaratne had no idea how and where it went. Rabada angles in a good length ball around off, straightening a touch with extra bounce, Karunaratne stays back to defend but it takes the splice of his bat and hurries past the slip cordon for a boundary. |
| 13.5 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Fuller and drifting down the leg side, Karunaratne fails to flick it off his pads. |
| 13.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 14.1 : K Maharaj to de Silva, Flighted full ball on middle, driven back to the bowler. |
| 14.2 : K Maharaj to Silva, FOUR! Fine footwork by Dhananjaya. Gives himself room by staying leg side to this delivery and then dances down the track to loft it with the spin over extra cover. Catch it is the shout but it goes well wide of the long off fielder. A boundary. |
| 14.3 : K Maharaj to Silva, Dhananjaya has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 14.4 : K Maharaj to Silva, Loopy and full on off, defended watchfully off the front foot. |
| 14.5 : K Maharaj to Silva, This one is bowled a bit in the flatter trajectory. Fullish and down the leg side. De Silva tries to flick but misses and it goes off his left boot to the point region. For a moment, the close-in fielders got excited but there was no bat involved. |
| 14.6 : K Maharaj to Silva, Nicely tossed up delivery, a good loop as it lands full around off. Dhananjaya strides forward and pushes it softly towards backward point for a run. |
| 15.1 : K Rabada to Silva, Back of a length delivery in the channel outside off, Dhananjaya allows it through to the keeper. |
| 15.2 : K Rabada to Silva, Identical length again but this one is bowled in the line of the off stump. De Silva defends it off his back foot. |
| 15.3 : K Rabada to Silva, Uneasy moment. Rabada angles a length ball on middle and leg, de Silva tries to flick but it takes the leading edge and rolls to point. |
| 15.4 : K Rabada to Silva, Another delivery which is drifting down the leg side. Dhananjaya is beaten for pace on this occasion as he fails to connect with his flick shot. Takes a blow on his thigh pad. |
| 15.5 : K Rabada to Silva, Pitches it up and outside off, de Silva drives it down the ground and Shamsi chases it from mid off. Three taken. |
| 15.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Shortish and outside off, defended from the back foot to point. |
| 16.1 : K Maharaj to de Silva, Gets forward and drives it with the spin on the off side. |
| 16.2 : K Maharaj to Silva, Once again Dhananjaya strokes it with the spin towards the bowler. |
| 16.3 : K Maharaj to de Silva, This time the batsman finds the gap with his off drive and picks up a single. There is a fielder in the deep. |
| 16.4 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Too full in length around off, Gunathilaka steps down the track and digs it out through mid-wicket for a run. Nearly got deceived in flight. |
| 16.5 : K Maharaj to Silva, This one is very full on off, Dhananjaya keeps it out at the last moment. |
| 16.6 : K Maharaj to Silva, Whoa! What was that? Spitting cobra. Maharaj gives this one some extra flight and lands it somewhere around middle. Dhananjaya thinks of playing at it from the crease but it shoots up to beat the bat. Nearly kissed the outside edge. Good take by de Kock. Rangana Herath will be licking his lips after watching that. |
| 17.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, A length ball on off, defended from the crease. |
| 17.2 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Stays back and punches it towards mid on for a run. |
| 17.3 : K Rabada to de Silva, That would have hurt! Rabada bowls it short and Dhananjaya connects well with his pull shot but it hits Markram flush on the grille of his helmet at short leg. It then deflects on his right shoulder before settling down near the pitch. Aiden not showing much pain though. |
| 17.4 : K Rabada to Silva, Bumper! A well-directed one. On a lifeless pitch. Rabada is a special bowler. Making a Galle pitch look like a Durban one. Extracts extra pace and bounce and catches de Silva in an awkward position. He shapes up for the pull shot initially but then tries to bail out. But by then it has taken his gloves and gone wide of short leg. Markram reacts to his left but fails to reach the chance in time. Dhananjaya survives a scare. |
| 17.5 : K Rabada to Silva, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 17.6 : K Rabada to Silva, Outside off, left alone to end a fantastic over. |
| Tabraiz Shamsi into the attack. Interesting change, unless it's for swapping ends. Keshav got good purchase. |
| 18.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Tossed up ball outside off, spinning away, Karunaratne defends it off his back foot. |
| 18.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Dimuth has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 18.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Gets forward to a full ball and drives it towards mid off. |
| 18.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Once again Dimuth plays it with the spin back towards the bowler. |
| 18.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Spinning away from the southpaw, Karunaratne tries to cut but misses. |
| 18.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Drops it short this time, on middle, Karunaratne pulls it to deep mid-wicket. Rabada rushes across to his right from fine leg and slides to stop the ball. A couple of runs taken. |
| Change of ends for Keshav Maharaj. |
| 19.1 : K Maharaj to Silva, Dances down the track to take it on the full but mishits it towards short leg. De Kock shouts catch it as he thought it went off the boot. Nothing such in the replays. |
| 19.2 : K Maharaj to Silva, Floated and full on middle, blocked off the front foot back towards the bowler. |
| 19.3 : K Maharaj to Silva, Arm ball on off, skidding in, Dhananjaya keeps it out from the back foot. |
| 19.4 : K Maharaj to de Silva, Hammers a full ball back towards the bowler who dives across to his right to stop the ball. Very well done. |
| 19.5 : K Maharaj to Silva, Maharaj is a superb fielder off his own bowling. An off drive by Dhananjaya this time and Keshav flies to his left to stop the ball. |
| 19.6 : K Maharaj to Silva, Defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 20.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Karunaratne has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 20.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Presses forward to a full ball and defends it down. |
| 20.3 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Drives it with the spin down to deepish mid off for a run. |
| 20.4 : Shamsi to de Silva, OUT! Through the gate! Shamsi is delighted and runs in joy. Brilliant delivery. Generously tossed up just outside off, landing on a fuller length, de Silva tries to drive it through covers but it spins back in big time, beats the inside part of the bat and hits the top of off stump. Dhananjaya has a surprised look on his face, smiles a bit before leaving the ground. So much turn on this delivery, alarming for South Africa also as Sri Lanka possess three quality spinners |
| Kusal Mendis is the number 4 batsman. |
| 20.5 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Mendis has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 20.6 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Spinning back in from around off, Mendis goes inside the crease and keeps it out at the last moment. |
| 21.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Too full and on off, pushed down to long on for one. |
| 21.2 : K Maharaj to K Mendis, Flighted and full on middle, Mendis wristily works it down to mid on. |
| 21.3 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Very full on middle, eased behind square leg for a single. |
| 21.4 : K Maharaj to D Karunaratne, Tossed up outside off, driven towards mid off for a run. |
| 21.5 : K Maharaj to Mendis, FOUR! Loopy delivery spinning down the leg side, Mendis gets down on one knee to play the sweep shot but fails to make proper connection. It beats de Kock behind the stumps and races away to the fine leg fence. The umpire signals it as runs and the replays pick a bit of Mendis' gloves. Hmm... not a convincing way to reach the milestone but still a big achievement. 2000 Test runs for Kusal! |
| 21.6 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Flatter on off, defended off the back foot. |
| 22.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Flighted and outside off, turning away, Karunaratne tries playing at it but is beaten by the away spin. |
| 22.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Plays with the spin on this occasion and pushes it out to covers. |
| 22.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, A floated one on off, driven off the front foot to covers. Shamsi won't mind that shot with the ball turning square. |
| 22.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Flatter on off, blocked off the back foot. |
| 22.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Strides forward and drives it down to long off for one. |
| 22.6 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Quietly eases it down through mid on for a run. |
| Heinrich Klaasen is on the field as Dale Steyn has gone back to the pavilion. |
| 23.1 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Loopy and on off, pushed with an angled bat towards point. |
| 23.2 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Too full in length on middle, Mendis keeps it out towards short leg. |
| 23.3 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Very full and on middle, flicked on the leg side but straight towards short leg. On one bounce. |
| 23.4 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Goes down on one knee for the sweep shot but it takes the bottom half of the bat and rests on the surface. |
| 23.5 : K Maharaj to Mendis, The batsman has pushed it to the cover region. One run added to the total. |
| 23.6 : K Maharaj to D Karunaratne, Gets forward to defend and keeps it out from the inside half of the bat. |
| Dale Steyn returns on the field. |
| 24.1 : T Shamsi to Mendis, FOUR! Shamsi drags his length short and it's going down the leg side. Mendis gets back to pull and in spite of it staying low, he puts it away through backward square leg for a boundary. |
| 24.2 : T Shamsi to Mendis, That went too quickly to short leg. Mendis whips his flick shot across the line and it hits Markram flush on his left shin pad and rolls in the opposite direction. No time to react. |
| 24.3 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Tickles it off his pads through mid-wicket and crosses for a run. |
| 24.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Turning down the leg side, Dimuth tries to flick but misses. |
| 24.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Karunaratne has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 24.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Slight spin away from the batsman, Karunaratne stays back and punches it square of the wicket on the off side. Dot ball to end the over. |
| 25.1 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Flighted and on off, driven through covers for a single. |
| 25.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Steps down the track and knocks it down to long on for one. |
| 25.3 : K Maharaj to K Mendis, The length is on the shorter side outside off, it's cut off the back foot through point. Bavuma chases it down and the batsmen cross for a couple. |
| 25.4 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Loopy and full around off, driven of the front foot towards silly mid off. |
| 25.5 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Beauty! Drifting into the batsman and landing full around off, Mendis has to play at it but gets beaten due to the away spin. |
| 25.6 : K Maharaj to Mendis, FOUR! Some starter before Lunch by Maharaj (In India a cook is called a maharaj)! Friendly full toss on off, Mendis kneels and nails his sweep shot through mid-wicket for a boundary. The umpire takes the bails off and the players are leaving the field. LUNCH ON DAY 1! |
| Mixed session! Sri Lanka scored runs, 93 to be precise and South Africa picked up a couple of wickets. The hosts after electing to bat started well with their openers looking comfortable. Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn weren't accurate with their lines and conceded runs at a quick pace. It was Kagiso Rabada and his class which brought South Africa their first wicket. The second wicket was more due to the turn on offer from the pitch as Dhananjaya lost his stumps. |
| There is plenty in the pitch for the spinners and expect Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi to dominate proceedings after the Lunch break. Dimuth Karunaratne has applied himself superbly and Sri Lanka will hope that he bats long. Kusal Mendis has looked a bit uneasy although he is striking at almost run-a-ball. South Africa will be worried already but they cannot afford to think too ahead. First thing first, their aim will be to restrict the home team to a low first innings total. Will they succe |
| ...DAY 1, SECOND SESSION... |
| Welcome back for the afternoon session. The players march out to the middle. Once again a quick huddle for South Africa before they spread on the field. So, what to expect in this session from the Proteas? Spin, spin and some more spin. Starting with Tabraiz Shamsi. Here we go... |
| 26.1 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Starts the session with a short delivery outside off, Karunaratne rocks back and cuts it with the turn to deep point. It slows down before the rope as the sweeper cover fielder picks it up and sends the throw to the keeper. A couple taken. |
| 26.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Tossed up ball on middle, Karunaratne defends it off his front foot. |
| 26.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Turning away from the batsman after landing full outside off. Dimuth picks it well and lets it through to the keeper. |
| 26.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full again, around off, Karunaratne lunges and defends it back. |
| 26.5 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Extra flight this time as it lands very full on off. Dimuth drives it back to the bowler. |
| 26.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, A bit flatter through the air, full and on middle, spinning away, DK defends it by getting forward. Not quite from the middle of the bat. |
| Interesting. South Africa have decided to bowl pace from one end. Dale Steyn it is. A couple of slips in place. |
| 27.1 : D Steyn to Mendis, Back of a length ball on off, defended off the back foot to mid-wicket. |
| 27.2 : D Steyn to Mendis, Lands it on a length around off, shaping back in a bit, Mendis softly works it through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 27.3 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, FOUR! Serves it full and outside off, Karunaratne pushes at it with firm hands and places it through the gap between gully and backward point for a boundary. |
| 27.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Digs in a bouncer around leg, Dimuth ducks underneath it. |
| 27.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, FOUR! Off the gloves, beating the despairing dive from Quinton de Kock. A well-directed short ball by Steyn, Karunaratne tries to pull but it takes his gloves and flies past the diving keeper to the fine leg fence. Dimuth seems to have hurt his fingers but is ready to face the next ball. Maybe, will ask for physio after the over ends. |
| 27.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Short and on middle, pulled in front of square leg for one. |
| 28.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Short and spinning away after landing outside off, Karunaratne slaps it to sweeper cover for one. |
| 28.2 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Tossed up ball on off, turning in, it's defended off the back foot. |
| 28.3 : T Shamsi to Mendis, A loopy full ball landing on leg and spinning down, Mendis tries to flick but misses. Another good take by de Kock. |
| 28.4 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Flighted and full outside off, Mendis drives it back towards the bowler. |
| 28.5 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Is that a catch? Nopes, it isn't. For a moment, the on air commentators got excited. Flatter full ball on off, Mendis tries to drive but it spins back in to take the inside edge. On one bounce it goes to Markram at short leg but de Kock ain't aware of it and shouts catch itttt. Aiden shows no excitement at short leg though. |
| 28.6 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 29.1 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Fullish and on off, driven back to the bowler. |
| 29.2 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, 15th Test fifty fir Dimuth Karunaratne! Full and around off, angling away, Dimuth plays a punch drive through covers and takes a single. Good knock so far by him. He raises his bat to acknowledge the applause from his teammates. |
| 29.3 : D Steyn to Mendis, Zippy delivery, leaving the batsman outside off, Mendis has a poke at it but misses. |
| 29.4 : D Steyn to Mendis, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 29.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Spears it very full on middle, Karunaratne keeps it out safely at mid on. |
| 29.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, FOUR! Fine, fine shot! A fractionally short of a length delivery outside off, angling away, Karunaratne stands tall inside the crease and pulls it powerfully through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 30.1 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Turning down the leg side, Kusal tries to flick but misses. The line has been quite inaccurate from Shamsi. |
| 30.2 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Floated full ball on off, spinning back in, Mendis lunges and defends it off the inner half of the bat to mid-wicket. |
| 30.3 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Nicely tossed up again, full and on middle, it's flicked past short leg. Finds backward square leg. |
| 30.4 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Flighted and full on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 30.5 : T Shamsi to Mendis, Another flick shot by Mendis and this time he finds the gap at mid-wicket for a single. |
| 30.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Loopy and drifting in around off, Karunaratne strides forward and defends it near his front pad. |
| 31.1 : D Steyn to Mendis, Good length delivery around off, it's punched off the back foot and the ball rolls through point for a couple of runs. |
| 31.2 : D Steyn to Mendis, OUT! Soft dismissal! Steyn strikes and roars in delight. He delivers it on a fuller length around middle, maybe it sticks a bit on the pitch as Mendis is early into the flick shot. Ends up chipping a straightforward catch to Kagiso Rabada at mid on. A nothing shot in the end and it brings the curtains down on Kusal's knock. So, this is the second wicket falling more due to the assistance from the pitch than anything else. Such deliveries usually get whipped through mid-w |
| In walks Angelo Mathews. |
| 31.3 : D Steyn to Mathews, Greets the new batsman with a well-cooked bouncer. Mathews ducks. |
| 31.4 : D Steyn to Mathews, Mathews lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 31.5 : D Steyn to Mathews, A length ball on off, Mathews defends it off his back foot to the leg side. |
| 31.6 : D Steyn to Mathews, On a shortish length around off, Mathews defends it off his back foot to the off side. |
| 32.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Tossed up ball on middle, flicked on the leg side but straight to the fielder. |
| 32.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Once again the line is too straight and it has been worked fine down the leg side for a couple of runs. |
| 32.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Very full and on middle, driven down the ground past the bowler to mid off. |
| 32.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Nicely flighted this time. Full and on off, spinning a bit away, Dimuth defends it off his front foot. |
| 32.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Loopy and on middle, Karunaratne is solid in his front foot defense. |
| 32.6 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Flighted and full on middle, driven with the spin but straight to the cover fielder. |
| 33.1 : D Steyn to Mathews, Bangs in a shortish ball on middle, Mathews takes his eyes off the ball and somehow keeps it out on the leg side. |
| 33.2 : D Steyn to Mathews, A touch short and on off, this time Mathews taps it down comfortably towards short leg. On one bounce to Markram it goes. |
| 33.3 : D Steyn to Mathews, Short again, on middle, Mathews eases it down to long leg and crosses. |
| 33.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Lands it full and outside off, some extra bounce, Karunaratne presses forward and drives it on the up towards the cover region. A single taken. |
| 33.5 : D Steyn to Mathews, A length ball on off, angling in, Mathews remains inside the crease as he defends it back to the bowler. |
| 33.6 : D Steyn to Mathews, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 34.1 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Short and outside off, cut from the back foot but straight to the cover-point fielder. |
| 34.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Dropped! Never easy at short leg. These kind of chances stick or they don't. Flighted and full ball on middle, it's flicked across the line and is uppish. Markram tries to catch it but it hits his body and dies down before he could react. |
| 34.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Tossed up ball landing full outside off, Karunaratne leans to defend but gets an inside edge onto the pads. |
| 34.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and landing on leg, turning towards off after that as Karunaratne attempts to flick. He closes the face of the bat early and it pops out off the leading edge. Doesn't carry to anyone. |
| 34.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Karunaratne has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 34.6 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Fullish on off, driven down the ground to mid off. Just the second maiden of this innings. |
| Kagiso Rabada is back on. |
| 35.1 : K Rabada to Mathews, OUT! An inspirational bowling change by Faf du Plessis and Kagiso Rabada has nipped out Angelo Mathews. He bowls it on a length around off, Angelo is stuck inside the crease as he tries playing at it with an angled bat. Very unsure from the former Lankan skipper as he nicks it behind for Quinton de Kock. A very simple catch for the Protea keeper and Rabada has two. |
| 0.0 : Roshen Silva is the new batsman. Dark clouds are also approaching the stadium. |
| 35.2 : K Rabada to Silva, Bouncer! The batsman ducks in time to let that one go over him. |
| 35.3 : K Rabada to R Silva, OUT! Rabada is a special, special bowler. An effort delivery by him. He bends his back and lets out a roaring rising delivery around off. Roshen has never seen the ball jumping on so much in Sri Lanka. He is caught in an awkward position as he goes on his toes to fend at it. The ball takes the splice of his bat and loops towards short leg. Markram is alert there and stretches low to his right to take the catch safely. Rabada smiles, third scalp for him. |
| Niroshan Dickwella arrives in the middle. |
| 35.4 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Good length ball on middle and off, defended off the back foot. |
| 35.5 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Another back foot defense by Dickwella. |
| 35.6 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. End of a superlative over by KG, a double-wicket maiden! |
| 36.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Short and wide outside off, punched to sweeper cover for a single. |
| 36.2 : Shamsi to Dickwella, What happened there? Tossed up ball on off, turning in with some extra bounce, Dickwella tries to sweep but misses. It hits his gloves and deflects onto his helmet. The extra protection behind the helmet comes off on the impact. The ball rolls towards Markram at short leg who has an immediate shy at the striker's end. No harm done. |
| 36.3 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 36.4 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Flighted and outside off, going straight on, Dickwella goes down to slog sweep but misses. |
| 36.5 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Pushed to the cover region by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 36.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Flighted full ball on off, turning in, Karunaratne leans forward and defends it off the inner half of the bat. |
| Huge shout for an lbw and up goes the finger. The South Africans are celebrating but Dickwella wants it to get reviewed. Pitching outside leg? |
| 37.1 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Not out! It's indeed pitching outside leg. A sharp delivery, speared in, Dickwella is stuck inside the crease, his feet went nowhere as he tried to flick. Got beaten for pace, missed the ball completely to get hit on the pads. Looked dead to the naked eye and the finger went up after the appeal. Dickwella took the DRS and the replays showed it to be landing outside leg. A reprieve to ND all thanks to the technology. |
| 37.2 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Boom on the helmet. Rabada is mixing his length quite well. Digs it in short, well-directed, Niroshan takes his eyes off the ball as he tries to get away from the line. Takes a blow on his helmet this time. A very uneasy stay in the middle for the Lankan wicketkeeper. |
| 37.3 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Back of a length delivery on middle, defended off the back foot. |
| 37.4 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Played to the point region by the batsman. They've managed to run three. |
| 37.5 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Rabada is in excellent rhythm at the moment. Bangs in yet another bouncer, nicely directed, Dimuth ducks. |
| 37.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, FOUR! Easy pickings! Rabada errs in his line and slips a full ball down the leg side, Karunaratne neatly deflects it off his pads to the fine leg fence. |
| Drinks break. A fine hour post Lunch for South Africa. They have picked three wickets in quick time and are on top. Cannot afford to relax though as every run scored on this pitch will be crucial. Needless to say, Sri Lanka need someone to stick around with Karunaratne. Let's see what the next hour has in store for us. |
| 38.1 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, In the air... safe! Dickwella is living dangerously. A flighted full ball just outside off, spinning away, Niroshan tries to sweep it across the line but gets a top edge. It flies over the keeper and past the outstretched right hand of Hashim Amla (first slip). Runs behind and they take three runs. |
| 38.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Flighted and full on off, driven through covers. Karunaratne set off for a run but his partner is ball-watching. So, he also decides to watch the ball as de Kock screams Temba! Temba! But before anything else happens, Dickwella rushes across, responds to the call and makes it safely to the other end. |
| 38.3 : T Shamsi to N Dickwella, Uppish but safe. Turning into the batsman, from a fuller length, Dickwella flicks it across the line but not with much conviction. It loops in the air but doesn't carry to mid on. |
| Shout for a caught behind. Not given. Quinton de Kock though is very sure and convinces his skipper to go for the DRS. The way they are celebrating, it seems there was an outside edge. Let's see... |
| 38.4 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Nothing but daylight. Waste of a review. Faf really should be unimpressed with his keeper. A delivery spinning away from the batsman, Dickwella tries to defend off his front foot but misses. It spins and bounces past his bat, de Kock collects it and jumps in joy. The bowler also joins him in appealing but the umpire refuses. Du Plessis opts for the DRS after listening to Quinton but only disappointment came after that for South Africa. |
| 38.5 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Peach of a delivery. Drifting into the batsman around off, Dickwella once again is beaten as he tries to defend but the ball spins away from his willow. |
| 38.6 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Too full and on leg, swept behind square leg for a couple of runs. |
| 39.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Good length ball outside off, Karunaratne punches it off his back foot to covers. |
| 39.2 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Played through mid-wicket by the batsman. Two runs added to the total. |
| 39.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Short and on middle, pulled down to fine leg where Shamsi made a tumbling stop. A couple taken again. |
| 39.4 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Bouncer! The batsman ducks in time to let that one go over him. |
| 39.5 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, A wild delivery. Way wide outside off, left alone by the batsman and the umpire called it a wide. First extra of this innings. |
| K Rabada to Karunaratne, Back of a length delivery on off, Karunaratne stands back inside the crease and whacks it through covers for a couple. Looks a lot assured while staying back and playing his shots, Dimuth. |
| 39.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Short and wide outside off, DK cuts it off his back foot but finds the point fielder. |
| 40.1 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Flatter, shorter and wider outside off. Spinning away. Dickwella delays his shot a bit and dabs it past backward point for a single. |
| 40.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Floated full ball on off, defended watchfully off the front foot by Karunaratne. |
| 40.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Fails to read the variation, Dimuth. A wrong 'un, landing on middle, Karunaratne is inside the crease, completely clueless as he misses the ball and is hit on the pads. They appeal but it's missing leg. |
| 40.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 40.5 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Flighted on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 40.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Play and a miss! Shamsi delivers it short around off, seeing that, Karunaratne rocks back and attempts to pull. However, the ball spins away to beat his bat. Tabraiz smiles. |
| 41.1 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Back of a length ball on middle, defended off the back foot by Niroshan. |
| 41.2 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Once again it's shortish in length around middle, Dickwella stays back inside the crease to present a straight bat in defense. It gathers the inside half of the bat and speeds through square leg for a run. |
| 41.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Pitches it full and on middle, Karunaratne falls over a bit on the off side as he flicks this one. Connection ain't entirely from the middle of the bat as it goes straight to mid-wicket. |
| 41.4 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Straighter in line and this time it has been flicked nicely through square leg. A couple of runs taken. |
| 41.5 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Bouncer around leg, Dimuth ducks underneath it. |
| 41.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, A length ball angling away from the batsman, Karunaratne taps it off his back foot towards the vacant space in the cover region. A single to end the over. Rabada seems to be tiring now. |
| 42.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Leans forward to a full ball and defends it with the spin to the off side. |
| 42.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Extra flight but the length is too full on middle. It's been driven back to the bowler. |
| 42.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Superbly bowled. Turning away from the batsman outside off, Dimuth lunges to defend but is beaten. |
| 42.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, This time Shamsi fails to land his delivery. Karunaratne gets down on one knee and sweeps the full toss to deep mid-wicket for a brace. |
| 42.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Tossed up ball on off, defended near the front pad by Dimuth. |
| 42.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Well flighted and full on middle, hit across the line but straight to the mid-wicket fielder. |
| Keshav Maharaj is into the attack now, replacing Rabada. |
| 43.1 : K Maharaj to Dickwella, Flatter full ball on off, Dickwella defends it with firm hands towards the bowler. |
| 43.2 : K Maharaj to N Dickwella, Flighted and full on off, it's knocked down to long on for a run. |
| 43.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Nicely played. Tossed up and around off, Karunaratne paddles it down to fine leg for a couple. |
| 43.4 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Advances down the track to a full ball and pushes it out towards the cover fielder. |
| 43.5 : K Maharaj to D Karunaratne, Gives this one some extra air and lands it full outside off. Karunaratne drives it through covers and returns for the second run. |
| 43.6 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, And again. The length continues to be very full from Keshav and it's getting easily driven. Karunaratne finds the gap at covers and picks yet another couple of runs in this over. |
| 44.1 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Flighted and full on middle, Dickwella stays back when he should have been forward and defends it off the outer half of the bat to covers. |
| 44.2 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Sharp spin away from the batsman, Dickwella pushes at it and misses. |
| 44.3 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Floated around off, it's been swept in front of square leg for a run. |
| The groundsmen are making a move. It has turned gloomy now and maybe they are expecting some rain. Let's hope there is no interruption. |
| 44.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Turning square off the pitch. Karunaratne gets back to defend but is beaten. |
| 44.5 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Very full and on off, driven down the ground to mid off. |
| 44.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Floated full on off, turning away, Dimuth tries to flick but gets a leading edge towards point. |
| 45.1 : K Maharaj to Dickwella, Flighted and full outside off, driven off the front foot to the cover fielder. |
| 45.2 : K Maharaj to Dickwella, Dickwella tries to be innovative. Receives a low full toss on off and he brings out the reverse sweep. Doesn't come from the middle of the bat but it still has enough to speed past Amla at first slip. By the time it has been retrieved in the deep, they take a couple of runs. |
| 45.3 : K Maharaj to Dickwella, Walks down to the pitch of the delivery and pushes it back to the bowler. |
| 45.4 : K Maharaj to Dickwella, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 45.5 : K Maharaj to Dickwella, Goes down on one knee and sweeps it with the spin to long leg for a run. |
| 45.6 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Flatter and shorter on off, it's been punched off the back foot to mid-wicket. No run to end the over. |
| 46.1 : T Shamsi to Dickwella, Turning away from the batsman but the length is on the shorter side. Dickwella rocks back and slaps it through cover-point for a couple of runs. |
| 46.2 : T Shamsi to N Dickwella, OUT! This was always on the cards with the ball spinning away from the southpaw. Shamsi tosses it up nicely and lands it full around off. Dickwella gets half-forward to defend but it turns away to catch the outside edge. Amla makes no mistake at first slip and the 42-run association has been broken. Brilliant bowling by the chinaman, he has been on song with his line and length, which is so unlike a wrist spinner. For Niroshan, it's a case of yet another start not |
| With that wicket, the heavens have opened up. The players are rushing off the field as it's raining heavily all of a sudden. The groundsmen charge in to the centre with the covers and in no time, they have covered the playing area. Will we have any more play in this session? Stay with us to find out. |
| We are getting the confirmation that early TEA has been taken. The conditions though have brightened up in the middle. Having said that, some dark and angry looking clouds are still lurking around. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a prompt start after the break. |
| Outstanding session for the touring team. It was a mixed-bag play in the morning where the honours were shared. Things completely changed though after the Lunch break. The South African bowlers found their rhythm and snapped three wickets in the first hour. Kagiso Rabada once again was in his elements and bowled with a lot of venom, resulting in the wickets of Mathews and Roshen. Tabraiz Shamsi bowled relentlessly from one end and was very impressive. Given the nature of the pitch, the Lankans w |
| ...DAY 1, THIRD SESSION... |
| Update 1442 local - We're back. No rain we are hearing which is superb news. But the covers are still on and we can see some water on it. Won't be a prompt start, sadly. Stay with us for more updates. |
| That was quick! The groundsmen have done a wonderful job in mopping up all the water on the covers. We are all set to get underway again. Dilruwan Perera has joined Dimuth Karunaratne in the middle. Tabraiz Shamsi to complete his over. |
| Shout for an lbw! Up goes the finger and Perera has reviewed it. Looks out. Let's see... |
| 46.3 : Shamsi to Perera, MISSING LEG! Too much turn has saved Dilruwan. We all got tricked there. A loopy full ball landing just outside off and spinning back in to beat the forward defensive prod of Perera. It strikes him on the pads, they appeal and the umpire raises his finger. Dilruwan opts for the DRS and it finds the ball to be missing leg. |
| 46.4 : T Shamsi to Perera, Shortish and on middle, turning down, Perera fails to put bat on ball and gets hit on the thigh pad. |
| 46.5 : T Shamsi to Perera, Eases a full ball down to long on and crosses for a single. |
| 46.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, A touch short and around off, Karunaratne moves back and hits it against the spin through mid-wicket for a brace. End of a successful over. |
| Vernon Philander is back on to bowl. One would have thought we might see spin from both ends for more time... |
| 47.1 : V Philander to Perera, OUT! My word - what was that from de Kock? Almost like a net session! |
| 0.0 : Rangana Herath is the new man in at number 9, replacing Dilruwan. |
| 47.2 : V Philander to Herath, Outside off, pretty wide, left alone. |
| 47.3 : V Philander to Herath, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 47.4 : V Philander to Herath, Full and around middle, watchfully defended. |
| 47.5 : V Philander to Herath, One more leave outside off. |
| 47.6 : V Philander to Herath, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 48.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, driven back to the bowler. |
| 48.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Short and outside off, cut straight to point. |
| 48.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Better shot. Waits for the ball to come, it is pretty much similar to the previous one and this time he gets it past backward point for a couple. |
| 48.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Very full, around off, watchfully blocked. |
| 48.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and down the leg side, swept fine for a couple. |
| South Africa are spending extra time trying to dry the ball. The outfield has been ruled dry enough for play to carry on but clearly there is plenty of water on the field as can be seen from the Proteas' reaction... |
| 48.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, A touch short, pulled through mid-wicket for a brace again. |
| 49.1 : V Philander to R Herath, A tad short, on middle, Herath swivels and pulls it through square leg for a single. Gets off the mark. |
| 49.2 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Walks a couple of steps towards the pacer and then shoulders arms. |
| 49.3 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Full and straight, Karunaratne looks to defend but gets a thick inside edge onto his pads. |
| 49.4 : V Philander to Karunaratne, That looked stone dead. Only for some wood. This was pretty straight, Dimuth looked to flick this one but missed. Was hit flush on the pads and Philander started to go up in an appeal but then spotted the inside edge. |
| 49.5 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Three in a row. Vernon continues to probe around off, DK looked to defend but the ball straightened a touch and went off the inside edge through square leg. A run taken. |
| 49.6 : V Philander to Herath, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 50.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, FOUR! CLOUT! Very rarely does one use such words for Karunaratne. But he seems to have realized that the scoreboard is not moving and someone has got to do something about it - better be the set man. Full and on off, Dimuth gets down and mows it over mid-wicket for a boundary! |
| 50.2 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Comes down the track and pushes it back to the bowler. |
| Is that gone? De Kock seems confident. Herath seems to be in despair. Third umpire will give the decision on the status of the pair... |
| 50.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, OUT! Gone by more than a yard. Poor Herath. Dimuth came down the track and whipped it wide of mid on. The striker had come halfway down the track for the single. Herath meanwhile, was ball watching and started to run after he saw Dimuth halfway down. Now Karunaratne stopped but then continued to run. Herath started his locomotor but after Philander got to the ball. All the fielder had to do was pick up and throw to the keeper who did the rest. Herath put in a dive |
| The captain is out to the middle now - Suranga Lakmal. |
| 50.4 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Pitched on middle, Lakmal looked to defend but missed and was hit on the pads. Shamsi appealed but the umpire shook his head. The bowler and captain had a chat and perhaps there was a chat regarding the inside edge. Oh dear... replays do not detect any inside edge and Hawk Eye says that the BALL WILL HIT THE LEG STUMP! |
| 50.5 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Full toss outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 50.6 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Ball hits the batsman low on the pads. A strong appeal from the bowler and fielders. The umpire shows no interest in the appeal. |
| 51.1 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Full and around off, defended watchfully. |
| 51.2 : V Philander to Karunaratne, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 51.3 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, driven towards mid off. |
| 51.4 : V Philander to Karunaratne, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. They pick up a single. |
| 51.5 : V Philander to Lakmal, On middle and leg, flicked away for a run. |
| 51.6 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Comes down the track and has a hack. The ball goes off the inside edge and goes towards fine leg. A single taken. |
| 52.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Outside off, played through point for a couple. |
| 52.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 52.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Moves to 98... pushes it towards mid on for a single. |
| 52.4 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Tossed up generously around leg stump, Lakmal plays all around it as he looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 52.5 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Full and around off, Suranga looks to drive but gets a thick inside edge onto his left boot. |
| 52.6 : T Shamsi to S Lakmal, FOUR! Glorious shot! A full ball outside off, Lakmal leans and drives it wide of mid off for a boundary! |
| 53.1 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Full on middle, driven straight down the ground for a single. Moves to 99... |
| 53.2 : V Philander to Lakmal, Outside off, coming in a long way, Lakmal looks to flick but misses. The ball beats the inside edge and just shaves the off stump! |
| 53.3 : V Philander to Lakmal, Full and around off, watchfully blocked. |
| 53.4 : V Philander to Lakmal, Outside off, played through point for a single. |
| Okay... 99 time... |
| 53.5 : V Philander to Karunaratne, CLOSE!!! Very straight, on middle and off, Dimuth looks to defend but gets a thick inside edge onto his pads. Could have so easily rolled onto the stumps. |
| 53.6 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Around off, solidly defended. Not throwing it away... |
| 54.1 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, THREE BYES. Forget the runs. Karunaratne is back on strike. Full and down the leg side, Lakmal looks to flick but misses. The ball spins from the rough, goes past the batsman and the keeper, eludes a lazy effort from Den Elgar at leg slip but still does not reach the ropes. Three runs taken. |
| 54.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, On middle, played straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 54.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, FOUR! 8th century for Karunaratne in Tests, his 4th 50-plus score in his last 5 innings batting first! Nice way to get it too. Comes down the track, takes the ball on the full and drives it straight down the ground for a boundary! The dressing room is standing tall and applauding. The two batsmen in the middle hug each other. Reason to smile, yes. But now, the Lankans need to think about getting some sort of a decent first innings score. |
| 54.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries. A tad short, around off, spinning in, Karunaratne just helps it through square leg. |
| 54.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, pushed through the covers for a single. |
| 54.6 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Full toss outside off, bashed towards mid off. |
| Keshav Maharaj is back on... after a long time. |
| 55.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Outside off, Karunaratne reverse sweeps it behind point for a couple. |
| 55.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Works it through mid-wicket for a brace again. |
| 55.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, The batsman has nudged the ball fine down the leg side. One run added to the total. |
| 55.4 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 55.5 : K Maharaj to S Lakmal, The darter on middle, Lakmal looks to defend but gets a thick inside edge onto his pads. |
| 55.6 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Tossed up around off, Lakmal gets a good stride and defends. |
| 56.1 : T Shamsi to D Karunaratne, Full and outside off, driven through the covers for a single. |
| 56.2 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Full and outside off, Lakmal drives it straight down the ground. Keshav Maharaj gets across from mid off, slides but a year too early. Two runs taken. |
| 56.3 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Tossed up on middle, Suranga looks to defend but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 56.4 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, This one is down the leg side and the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 56.5 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Dragged short, on middle, heaved towards deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 56.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Gets down, takes the ball on the full and gently paddles it through fine leg for a couple. |
| 57.1 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Quicker one outside off, a touch short, Lakmal looks to cut but misses. |
| 57.2 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Fuller, around off, watchfully defended. |
| 57.3 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Plenty of turn. Maharaj gives this a lot of loop and revolutions on this one, lands it outside off, Suranga stays back to defend but the ball spins past the outside edge. |
| 57.4 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Stays back and punches it towards cover. |
| 57.5 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Almost through! Full and outside off, SL comes forward to defend but his bat hits his pad and the ball spins past the outside edge. |
| 57.6 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Comes down a track a touch and pushes it towards mid on. |
| Kagiso Rabada is back on. 9-1-35-3 so far. Shamsi was tiring... |
| 58.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 58.2 : K Rabada to D Karunaratne, A short ball, around off, angling away, Karunaratne pulls but mistimes it to short mid-wicket. |
| 58.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Outside off, punched through the covers for a single. |
| 58.4 : K Rabada to S Lakmal, Stays back to punch it through the line. Attempts for the single and dives in an ugly manner to reach the other end. The fielder also had a shy at the bowler's end but failed to find the target. |
| 58.5 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Full on middle, flicked through mid-wicket for a run. |
| 58.6 : K Rabada to Lakmal, The batsman has driven it through mid on. |
| DRINKS BREAK. |
| 59.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Flighted and full on off, driven back to the bowler. |
| 59.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Advances down to the pitch of the delivery and knocks it down to long on for a run. |
| 59.3 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Tossed up on middle, defended back to the bowler. |
| 59.4 : K Maharaj to S Lakmal, Full again, driven straight to mid off. |
| 59.5 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 59.6 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Full again, watchfully blocked out. |
| 60.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, A short ball, on middle, pulled beautifully through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 60.2 : K Rabada to Lakmal, Down the leg side, Lakmal misses his flick and a leg bye is stolen. |
| 60.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, pushed towards cover. |
| 60.4 : Rabada to Karunaratne, Excellent yorker on middle and off, Karunaratne digs it out towards cover. |
| 60.5 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, TOP EDGE, SAFE! A rare misjudgement from Dimuth. He looks to take on this short ball but plays it a bit early. Gets a top edge which goes high up in the air. Keshav Maharaj comes running across to his left from deep square leg, puts in a slide but the ball lands short. Two runs taken. |
| 60.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 61.1 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, A full toss, outside leg, flicked straight to square leg. |
| 61.2 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, FOUR BYES! Useful runs. Down the leg side, Lakmal misses his flick, the keeper behind is blinded and the ball beats both and races to the fine leg fence. This is now the highest partnership in the innings. Worth 47. |
| 61.3 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 61.4 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. |
| 61.5 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Full on middle, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 61.6 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 62.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, A short ball, outside leg, Karunaratne looks to hook but the ball sails over the top edge. |
| 62.2 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Outside off, pushed through point for a single. |
| 62.3 : K Rabada to Lakmal, A bouncer now, on middle and off, Lakmal ducks. |
| 62.4 : K Rabada to Lakmal, OUT! That is a nasty delivery. A short ball, on middle and leg, Lakmal looks to tuck but the ball goes off his gloves and lobs straight up in the air. The Lankan skipper has no idea where the ball is but the people beside him have good idea. Quinton de Kock comes forward and takes the catch. Someone must have appealed because the umpire's finger went up. All I could see was only celebration. The 5-fer for Rabada still on. A useful stand of 48 has been broken. |
| Lakshan Sandakan is the last man in. Can he hang around with Karunaratne to take the total to 250? |
| 62.5 : K Rabada to L Sandakan, Full and outside off, Sandakan pushes at it with an open-bat face and goes behind point. Two runs taken. |
| 62.6 : K Rabada to Sandakan, Bouncer! The batsman does well to evade it. 3 runs and a wicket from the over. |
| Dale Steyn is back on. |
| 63.1 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, Karunaratne comes down the track and slashes hard but misses. |
| 63.2 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 63.3 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Outside off, a play and a miss from Dimuth. |
| 63.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Outside off, eased through point for a run. |
| 63.5 : D Steyn to Sandakan, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 63.6 : D Steyn to Sandakan, Full and down the leg side, clipped through square leg for a couple. |
| 64.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, A short ball around off, Karunaratne and swivels and looks to pull but gets a bottom edge through square leg. |
| 0.0 : Has he taken that? The soft signal is out. The fielder is Dean Elgar. The bowler is Kagiso Rabada. The third umpire is Nigel Llong. Seems to be a decent catch, but then I am not the umpire or a judge to give a verdict. |
| 64.2 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, 'I think after taking the catch, he has rolled the ball onto the grass' are the words of the third umpire. In plain words, DROPPED. Sensational effort though. A short ball outside off, Karunaratne jumps down the track and slaps it over point. The fielder comes charging in, takes the catch (as per my view) but is not too sure. The two umpires then have a chat with one another and refer it to the third umpire, signalling it out. Nigel has a longgggggggggggggggggggggg |
| 64.3 : K Rabada to Sandakan, Bouncer! The batsman ducks under the bouncer at the last moment. |
| 64.4 : Rabada to Sandakan, A yorker on middle, well dug out. |
| 64.5 : K Rabada to Sandakan, WIDE. A wayward bouncer, outside off, left alone. |
| K Rabada to Sandakan, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 64.6 : K Rabada to Sandakan, Played through mid-wicket by the batsman. |
| 65.1 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, On middle and off, a touch short, punched towards cover. |
| 65.2 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 65.3 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, On middle and leg, tucked through square leg for a single. |
| 65.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, A bouncer on middle, Sandakan ducks. |
| 65.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, FOUR! My word, this man can play in this gear as well? News to me. I thought he only participated in blockathons. Comes down the track, stays leg side of the ball, takes it on the half volley and crashes it through the covers for a boundary! The stand is worth 11 now. |
| 65.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Now he arches back and deftly upper cuts it over the vacant second slip to third man for a single. Moves to 130. |
| 66.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, NO BALL. Steyn oversteps and bowls a short ball, Karunaratne pulls it through square leg. Does not take the single. |
| K Rabada to Karunaratne, A short ball again, pulled cleanly but straight to mid-wicket. No single taken again. |
| 66.2 : K Rabada to D Karunaratne, Another short ball, pulled through mid-wicket for a couple this time. |
| 66.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Full and on middle, watchfully defended towards cover. |
| 66.4 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Backs away down the leg side, Rabada follows him, bowls it short and Dimuth has to duck to avoid getting hurt. Falls on his back side. |
| 66.5 : K Rabada to D Karunaratne, A short ball again, pulled towards long leg. No run taken. |
| 66.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Comes down the track, Kagiso bowls it full and wide, DK has to reach out and manages to get it through cover for a run. |
| Some cramp issues now for Karunaratne. He is resting on the ground while the physio tends to him. To be honest, South Africa will not mind it too much. Around 45 minutes left for the close of play and neither of Markram or Elgar would be keen to bat now. |
| 67.1 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Full on middle, flicked through mid-wicket. |
| 67.2 : D Steyn to D Karunaratne, A short ball, pulled towards mid-wicket. |
| 67.3 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, The batsman works it down the leg side. |
| 67.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Full on middle, flicked through mid-wicket for a couple. |
| 67.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, Karunaratne pushes it wide of mid off, sets off for a single but then changes his mind. Probably he should have taken that. |
| 67.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, FOUR! Off the top edge but South Africa will not mind. They wanted Sandakan on strike and they have that now. A short ball, around leg, Karunaratne swivels to pull but gets a top edge which sails over the keeper to the fence behind. The stand is now worth 22. |
| Tabraiz Shamsi is back on. South Africa would be worried now... |
| 68.1 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Down the leg side, spinning away, left alone. |
| 68.2 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 68.3 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. |
| 68.4 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, The batsman failed to make contact and was hit low on the pads. |
| 68.5 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, The batsman has driven it through mid on. |
| 68.6 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, The ball strikes the batsman very low on the pads. |
| Keshav Maharaj to bowl as well. |
| 69.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, Karunaratne looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. An LBW appeal ensues but dies down pretty quickly. Impact was outside off. |
| 69.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Full again, flicked through mid-wicket. Dimuth starts to run but then changes his mind. |
| 69.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, This time he leans and flicks it through square leg for a single. Strange. Moves to 140. |
| 69.4 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Short and outside fof, spinning away, Sandakan looks to cut but is beaten by the turn. |
| 69.5 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 69.6 : K Maharaj to L Sandakan, Full on middle, pushed towards mid on. |
| 70.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Bizarre from Karunaratne. First, he pushes the ball towards point and declines what would have been an easy single. Then, when Dean Elgar returns a wild throw at the non-striker's end which is not backed up, he takes the single. |
| 70.2 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Full and outside off, Sandakan leans and plays a crisp-looking drive towards mid off. |
| 70.3 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Down the leg side, Lakshan misses his flick and is hit on the pads. |
| 70.4 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 70.5 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| Change of angle now... coming around the wicket. |
| 70.6 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Full and around off, blocked towards mid on. |
| 71.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Outside off, punched towards cover. |
| 71.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, A full ball on middle, flicked through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 71.3 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Outside off, Sandakan lunges to defend but misses. |
| 71.4 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Full and outside off, pushed straight to cover. |
| 71.5 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Full and around off, watchfully blocked. |
| 71.6 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, The batsman fails to put bat on ball. |
| 72.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and around off, driven through mid off for a run. |
| 72.2 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, FOUR! Well, he is going for it now. Full and outside off, Sandakan gets down and slogs it over mid-wicket. There is a man in the deep, Dale Steyn, but he cannot get to the ball. The stand is worth 30 now!!! |
| 72.3 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Full and outside off, very solid in defense is Sandakan. |
| 72.4 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Full and outside off, Lakshan leans and drives it through the covers for a couple. |
| 72.5 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, This one is down the leg side and the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 72.6 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Ball hits the batsman low on the pads. |
| DRINKS BREAK... |
| 73.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Goes on the back foot and works it in front of square leg for a single. |
| 73.2 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Leans forward and defends it with the spin to the off side. |
| 73.3 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Moves his weight on the back leg and slaps a short ball through point for a couple. Showing more confidence now. |
| 73.4 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Lunges to defend but it spins away to beat the outside edge. |
| 73.5 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Quicker and flatter on middle, Sandakan tries to flick but gets a leading edge wide of the point fielder. |
| 73.6 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Flighted and full on off, blocked off the front foot to end the over. |
| 74.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, FOUR! CRACK! 2 short of a 150 now. A short ball, on middle, Karunaratne pulls it over mid-wicket and gets a boundary! |
| 74.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, Dimuth lofts it over cover and gets a single. The stand is worth 40 now. |
| 74.3 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Full and around off, Sandakan looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 74.4 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, This is dropped short now, Sandakan goes back and pulls it towards deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 74.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, 150 UP FOR KARUNARATNE! At a stage when the Lankans were struggling to get to 200, this man has scored a 150 of his own. And rightly so, he has scored nearly 60 percent of the runs. Gets to the landmark by a gentle push towards mid off for a single. |
| 74.6 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, The batsman plays the slog sweep. They pick up a single. |
| Well, if you are wondering why did the players have that extra Drinks Break, it is because the scheduled close of play is 1758 local. Plenty of time left. |
| 75.1 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Full on middle, flicked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 75.2 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 75.3 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Full and outside off, pushed straight to cover. |
| 75.4 : K Maharaj to L Sandakan, NO BALL. Maharaj oversteps now, bowls it outside off, Sandakan drives it towards cover. |
| K Maharaj to Sandakan, The batsman has attempted to put bat on ball - but fails. |
| 75.5 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Short and outside off, punched through the covers for a couple. This is now the HIGHEST 10TH WICKET STAND FOR SRI LANKA VS SOUTH AFRICA in Tests. |
| 75.6 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 76.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, Karunaratne backs away and lofts it over cover for a single. |
| 76.2 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, FOUR! CRASH! That is some way to bring up the FIRST 50-RUN STAND OF THE INNINGS! Full and outside off, Sandakan puts on his dancing shoes, gets to the pitch of the ball and clobbers it down the ground past mid off for a boundary! Moves to 20 from 47 balls. What a crucial knock. |
| Mid on drops back while mid-wicket comes in... |
| 76.3 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Comes down the track again and hits it straight but finds silly mid on. |
| 76.4 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, The batsman gets an inside edge and the ball hits him on the pads. |
| 76.5 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Full and outside off, Lakshan swings it towards long on but the ball does not carry. Just a single. |
| 76.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and around middle, Dimuth tries the paddle but gets a top edge which goes over the keeper, eluding Hashim Amla from first slip. A single taken. |
| Dean Elgar is asked to bowl now. Can he get that elusive wicket? |
| 77.1 : D Elgar to Karunaratne, Outside off, Karunaratne gets down and reverse sweeps it through backward point. Calls for two and gets them. |
| 77.2 : D Elgar to D Karunaratne, Short and outside off, cut away through the covers for a single. |
| 77.3 : D Elgar to Sandakan, FOUR! A long hop, Sandakan backs away and heaves it over mid-wicket for a boundary! |
| 77.4 : D Elgar to Sandakan, Full and outside off, pushed straight to cover. |
| 77.5 : D Elgar to Sandakan, A short ball outside off, Lakshan initially looks to cut initially but then lets it go. |
| 77.6 : D Elgar to Sandakan, Outside off, left alone. |
| 78.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full and outside off, Karunaratne backs away and lofts it inside out over cover for a couple. |
| Stumped? In? One more decision goes to the third umpire. Karunaratne is the batsman. |
| 78.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, SAFE. The keeper is indeed a little slow in knocking the bails off. Shamsi throws it miles outside off and Karunaratne, after coming down the track, sensing that he is beaten in flight, lets it go. He then tries to get back in his crease. De Kock collects, has to reach out for the ball and then whip the bails. It is referred upstairs and replays show that Karunaratne plonked his bat in but still managed to beat de Kock by a fraction of a second. |
| 78.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, On middle and leg, flicked towards square leg for a single. |
| 78.4 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, OUT! Finally Sri Lanka have been bowled out. Shamsi does a repeat of what he did to Karunaratne a couple of balls ago. Sandakan jumps down the track, Shamsi throws it wide, the batsman has to reach out but misses. Easy stumping for QdK this time. SRI LANKA HAVE MANAGED 287. |
| What a batting display. Miserable till Tea. Then amazing after Tea. The first 8 wickets added 176 while the last 2 have accumulated 111. Boy o boy, the rain break has worked wonders for the home side. |
| After electing to bat, Sri Lanka did not quite make use of the conditions. There was nothing much on the pitch except a bit of turn and some bounce but the batsmen just losing their wickets. Dimuth Karunaratne was the only man fighting hard and had it not been for the strong hands from Lakmal and Sandakan, the Lankans might have well folded up under 200. |
| What a knock from Dimuth Karunaratne. The fourth Sri Lankan batsman to carry his bat through a completed innings. He judged the pitch to perfection and more importantly, did not throw it away. His innings was studded with 14 hits to the fence, of which one sailed over. |
| 0.1 : R Herath to Elgar, Full and around off, Elgar defends. |
| 0.2 : R Herath to Elgar, Down the leg side, Dean struggles to get this away, slips, loses his balance, but somehow, manages to stay in the crease. |
| 0.3 : R Herath to Elgar, A full toss, flicked through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 0.4 : R Herath to Markram, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| Who will it be from the other end? A spinner? A seamer? The former. Dilruwan Perera has the ball. |
| 0.5 : R Herath to Markram, Full and outside off, Markram looks to defend but gets a thick inside edge onto his pads. |
| 0.6 : R Herath to Markram, Outside off, left alone. 1 over survived. |
| 1.1 : D Perera to D Elgar, Full and outside off, driven towards mid off. |
| 1.2 : D Perera to Elgar, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 1.3 : D Perera to Elgar, Pushes it back to the bowler. |
| 1.4 : D Perera to Elgar, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 1.5 : D Perera to Elgar, Full and down the leg side, Elgar looks to flick but misses. The ball goes off his pads towards slip and there is an LBW but negated. Going down leg. |
| 1.6 : D Perera to Elgar, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 2.1 : R Herath to Markram, Full and outside off, Markram looks to drive but gets an inside edge back to the bowler. |
| 2.2 : R Herath to Markram, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| 2.3 : R Herath to Markram, Goes back in his crease and blocks. |
| 2.4 : R Herath to A Markram, OUT! South Africa do not survive the day without any damage. Beautifully tossed up outside off, Markram is forced to play at that. The ball lands, generates a puff of dust around that area, kicks off, spins away, takes the outside edge and goes towards first slip. Angelo Mathews at first slip dives to his right and pouches it safely. |
| Keshav Maharaj comes in as the night watchman for the first time in his Test career. He has never batted above number 8 until tonight. |
| 2.5 : R Herath to Maharaj, Full and outside off, defended watchfully. |
| 2.6 : R Herath to Maharaj, Landed outside off, sorry. Does not land before the batsman at all. A full toss, beyond the stumps, Maharaj lets it go and the keeper stops it with his legs. |
| 3.1 : D Perera to Elgar, Full and outside off, Elgar smothers the spin. |
| 3.2 : D Perera to Elgar, Full and down the leg side, Elgar tickles it fine and the ball nearly goes all the way, stopping near the ropes. Three runs taken. |
| 3.3 : D Perera to Maharaj, Wide down the leg side, No trouble at all for the batsman. |
| 3.4 : D Perera to Maharaj, Around off, defended back to the bowler. |
| 3.5 : D Perera to Maharaj, Outside off, Keshav looks to drive but the ball goes beneath his bat and spins off something towards leg slip. |
| 3.6 : D Perera to Maharaj, Around off, defended solidly. STUMPS ON DAY 1, SOUTH AFRICA TRAIL BY 283! |
| What a day for the Lankans. They leave the field with smiles across everyone's face. For two-thirds of the day, the Proteas were all over the home side. But in those last 2 hours of Thursday, they have turned it around. |
| It is always irritating to see off a few balls before the close of play and the visitors lost Markram for a duck. They still have Elgar there and will hope that he does a Karunaratne. 287 does not look too big a score but it now seems huge on this one, which is emitting dust. It was all spin today but wonder whether Lakmal will open the bowling on Friday. |
| Kagiso Rabada has a chat with Shaun Pollock. On being asked about his fitness, KG says that he took a break of a month from cricket, got into rehabilitation and then slowly got back to fitness. Stresses that he wanted to take rest primarily and check what could have been triggering his injuries. Says that coming into this Test match, he was not feeling too confident, nor was he feeling too bad. Feels that he was lucky enough to get wickets in his second spell and is glad about the same. Admits t |
| Right then! That ends the action from the opening day of the first Test. After starting strongly, the Proteas have been pegged back. Can they fight back on Day 2? Or will Sri Lanka continue their dominance? Join us at 1000 local (0430 GMT) on Friday for the answers. In the meanwhile, you can also catch all the action from the first England-India ODI and the second Windies-Bangladesh Test. ADIOS! TAKE CARE! |
| ... DAY 2, SESSION 1 ... |
| 11 wickets fell on the opening day. South Africa started tremendously after being asked to field but then let loose their grip as the last 2 wickets added 111. Then, with around 20 minutes to go for Stumps, they lost Markram for a duck. A big day beckons for them. How they play spin will define how they fare in this game. Hello and a warm welcome to the second day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Galle. |
| WEATHER REPORT - 'We hope that it stays sunny all day', says Pommie Mbangwa on air. It is bright and sunny as of now, but you never know in Sri Lanka - clouds come in from nowhere, without any warning. |
| Pitch report - Russel Arnold has a look at the track and feels that it is a usual Galle pitch. There is a dark patch which has developed due to the footmarks, primarily that of Shamsi. That is around the fuller length just around off for a right-hander. Other than that, Arnold feels that there is good bounce on the pitch too, which had the Lankans hopping yesterday. Finally, ends by saying that the batsmen will have to grind it out in the middle as it will be a trial by spin. |
| Dimuth Karunaratne now has a chat with Roshan Abeysinghe. On his comeback to the side, he says that during recovery from injury, he was with the Sri Lankan 'A' side where he learnt quite a lot of things. On the innings yesterday, he feels he had a tough time initially, but then slowly got confidence as the innings grew longer. Credits that to the time spent with the 'A' team during injury. On the pitch, Dimuth reckons that it is a usual Galle pitch, with some bounce, as was extracted by Rabada a |
| The players are out in the middle now. What will start the proceedings? Spin or seam? It is the former to start - Mr. Herath to Mr. Elgar. |
| 4.1 : R Herath to Elgar, Outside off, punched through the off side for a single. |
| 4.2 : R Herath to Maharaj, Outside off, left alone. |
| 4.3 : Herath to Maharaj, HUGE, HUGE APPEAL FOR LBW! Herath is not interested, forget the umpire. Landed on middle and leg, Maharaj looks to work it to the leg side but misses and is hit on the pads. The men behind the wickets scream their lungs out but Herath shows his back to them. Well, Hawk Eye shows that to be hitting the stumps! |
| 4.4 : R Herath to Maharaj, Short and outside off, punched through the covers for three. |
| 4.5 : R Herath to Elgar, The batsman works it down the leg side. |
| 4.6 : R Herath to Elgar, 1 run. |
| Surprising. Spin from both ends with the new ball. Dilruwan Perera to bowl. |
| 5.1 : D Perera to Elgar, No run. |
| 5.2 : D Perera to Elgar, Landed around off, defended watchfully. |
| 5.3 : D Perera to Elgar, Very straight, watchfully blocked. |
| 5.4 : D Perera to Elgar, Full and wide outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 5.5 : D Perera to Elgar, Outside off, punched towards cover. |
| 5.6 : D Perera to Elgar, Full and around middle, Dean looks to flick but gets a leading edge which does not carry to cover. |
| 6.1 : R Herath to K Maharaj, The arm ball outside off, Maharaj goes back and cuts it straight to point. |
| 6.2 : R Herath to Maharaj, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 6.3 : Herath to Maharaj, OUT! LBW! This is a goner. This time Herath is interested and appeals. Up goes the umpire's finger on this occasion. This is the darter on off, Maharaj plays that coming half-forward and pays the price. Is hit on the pads and that is the end of Maharaj. |
| The master of patience walks out to bat. Hashim Amla is the name. |
| 6.4 : R Herath to Amla, Outside off, punched straight to point. |
| 6.5 : R Herath to Amla, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 6.6 : R Herath to Amla, Full and wide outside off, Hashim punches this through the covers and helps himself with a couple to get off the mark. |
| 7.1 : D Perera to Elgar, Full and outside off, a bit of flight, let through. |
| 7.2 : D Perera to Elgar, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 7.3 : D Perera to Elgar, Comes down the track, is not quite to the pitch of the ball and defends. |
| 7.4 : D Perera to Elgar, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 7.5 : D Perera to Elgar, 1 run. |
| 7.6 : D Perera to Amla, No run. |
| 8.1 : R Herath to Elgar, No run. |
| 8.2 : R Herath to Elgar, Again the reverse sweep, misses it, gets it off the bottom edge towards first slip where Angelo Mathews misfields with a tumble to his left and concedes a single. |
| 8.3 : R Herath to Amla, Full and outside off, Amla dead-bats it. |
| 8.4 : R Herath to Amla, Action replay of the previous delivery. |
| 8.5 : R Herath to Amla, EXTRA BOUNCE. This is from a fuller length around off, Hashim looks to defend by coming forward but suddenly the ball shoots up. He somehow manages to keep it out. |
| 8.6 : R Herath to Amla, Full and around off, nothing on this one, watchfully kept out. |
| 9.1 : D Perera to Elgar, Short and outside off, Elgar misses out, punching it straight to cover. |
| 0.0 : Is that out? The umpires are not sure. What is it though? |
| 9.2 : D Perera to D Elgar, OUT! It is a catch. Elgar has been given out on the field after a bit of a discussion. The replays seem pretty clear. Full on middle, Elgar looked to flick but got a bit of a leading edge or an outside edge, whichever way you look at it - straight to Angelo Mathews at first slip. The doubt here in the mind of the umpire was whether the ball spun away without hitting the edge because both - ball hitting the edge and the willow hitting the ground - happened instantaneousl |
| Temba Bavuma is the new man in as his side is in complete tatters. |
| 9.3 : D Perera to Bavuma, Comes down the track and works it towards mid on for a single. |
| 9.4 : D Perera to Amla, No run. |
| 9.5 : D Perera to Amla, 1 run. |
| 9.6 : D Perera to Bavuma, No run. |
| 10.1 : R Herath to H Amla, 1 run. |
| 10.2 : R Herath to Bavuma, No run. |
| 10.3 : R Herath to Bavuma, No run. |
| 10.4 : R Herath to Bavuma, No run. |
| 10.5 : R Herath to Bavuma, No run. |
| 10.6 : R Herath to Bavuma, No run. |
| 11.1 : D Perera to Amla, 1 run. |
| 11.2 : D Perera to Bavuma, No run. |
| 11.3 : D Perera to Bavuma, No run. |
| 11.4 : D Perera to Bavuma, No run. |
| 11.5 : D Perera to Bavuma, No run. |
| 11.6 : D Perera to Bavuma, No run. |
| 12.1 : R Herath to Amla, No run. |
| 12.2 : R Herath to Amla, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 12.3 : R Herath to Amla, Full and outside off, Amla comes down the track and drives it through the covers for a single. |
| 12.4 : R Herath to Bavuma, FOUR! Risky but effective. Herath bowls this full and straight, Bavuma gets down and across, reaches out and sweeps it past short fine leg for a boundary. |
| 12.5 : R Herath to Bavuma, Full and outside off, Temba looks to drive but gets it off the inner half back to the bowler. |
| 12.6 : R Herath to Bavuma, FOUR! Gets it again! This is more of a paddle shot, getting it through backward square leg. The stand moves to 13 from 22 balls. |
| 13.1 : D Perera to Amla, FOUR! Nice shot. Tossed up outside off, Amla comes down the track and lofts it over mid on for a boundary. The deficit is now 257. Amla moves to 10 from 16 balls. His first boundary. |
| 13.2 : D Perera to Amla, Full and just outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 13.3 : D Perera to Amla, This is on off, Hashim stays back to defend, expecting the ball to turn, but it goes straight through and squares him up. Takes the outside edge and goes to point. |
| 13.4 : D Perera to Amla, FOUR! Second one of the over. Flighted outside off, Amla jumps out and lofts it over mid off this time. |
| 13.5 : D Perera to Amla, Full and outside off, Hashim looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 13.6 : D Perera to H Amla, Full and outside off, Amla lunges to block but gets an outside edge, onto the ground towards first slip. |
| 14.1 : R Herath to T Bavuma, Full and outside off, Bavuma stays back to defend but the ball spins away, takes the outside edge but dies down in front of slip. |
| 14.2 : R Herath to Bavuma, Gets down, takes it from off stump and paddles it through fine leg for a single. |
| 14.3 : R Herath to T Bavuma, Very full outside off, Temba reaches out to drive but gets a bit of an outside edge througb point. A single taken. |
| 14.4 : R Herath to Amla, Full on off, watchfully defended. |
| 14.5 : R Herath to H Amla, Floated a bit, pushed towards mid on. |
| 14.6 : R Herath to Amla, A touch short, outside off, punched towards point for a quick un. The throw from the fielder is right over the stumps to the keeper but the runners are quicker. |
| 15.1 : D Perera to Amla, Full and outside off, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 15.2 : D Perera to Amla, Comes down the track, is not quite to the pitch of the ball but pushes it back to Perera. |
| 15.3 : D Perera to Amla, Full and around off, wristed beautifully towards short mid-wicket. |
| 15.4 : D Perera to Amla, Just outside off, dead-batted by the mighty Hash. |
| 15.5 : D Perera to Amla, Around off, just gripping a touch, flicked towards short mid-wicket. |
| 15.6 : D Perera to Amla, Full and just outside off, played in front of short leg. |
| 16.1 : R Herath to Bavuma, The arm ball, around off, played from the crease. |
| 16.2 : R Herath to Bavuma, Similar ball, but this one turns away a touch, Bavuma pushes it to the off side. |
| 16.3 : R Herath to Bavuma, Rash. A bit of flight this time, with a bit of spin, outside off, Temba looks to slog but misses. |
| 16.4 : R Herath to Bavuma, Full and outside off, TB plays inside the line this time, only to get beaten. |
| 16.5 : R Herath to Bavuma, Plenty of loop and width on this one, outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 16.6 : R Herath to Bavuma, A touch shorter, around off, worked through mid-wicket for a couple. |
| 17.1 : D Perera to Amla, Full and outside off, nice loop, not looking to push it through, Amla gets forward and defends. |
| 17.2 : D Perera to Amla, Oohh... sees Hashim jump out and fires this one on the pads. The batsman adjusts and whips it, aerially, just past short leg. Does not carry to square leg. |
| 17.3 : D Perera to Amla, Turn on this one. A bit short, from outside off, HA stays back and looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 17.4 : D Perera to Amla, More turn, but down the leg side. Amla misses his flick. |
| 17.5 : Perera to Amla, Howzzat? Not given. Full and outside off, Hashim gets down to sweep but misses and is hit on the pads. The Lankans appeal but umpire Reiffel is unmoved. No review taken. Might be spinning too much. |
| Now then, now then. The Lankans are confident that Amla has edged one to short leg. |
| 17.6 : D Perera to Amla, OUT! Massive inside edge. The master of patience is gone. Flighted around off, Amla comes down the track, looking to defend but the ball goes off his pads and lobs in the air. Kusal Mendis comes in from short leg and takes the catch and claims it but umpire Reiffel shakes his head. He immediately signals to Dickwella to go for the review who communicates that to Lakmal who signals the 'T'. Oh boy... massive inside edge from the first replay. Well done, Kusal. South Africa |
| Skipper Faf du Plessis walks in. |
| Is that number 5? Sri Lanka feel they have Bavuma caught at slip. Let's see. Another review. |
| 18.1 : R Herath to Bavuma, WASTE OF A REVIEW. Full and outside off, Bavuma looked to defend but the ball went off his pads to Angelo Mathews at first slip. |
| 18.2 : R Herath to Bavuma, LBW shout, not out. The arm ball, on middle, Bavuma looks to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. The Lankans roar but are calmed down. No review taken. Oh dear... HAWK EYE shows that to be HITTING LEG STUMP!!! |
| 18.3 : R Herath to Bavuma, Outside off, left alone. |
| 18.4 : R Herath to Bavuma, Full and outside off, swept through fine leg for a single. |
| 18.5 : R Herath to Plessis, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 18.6 : R Herath to Plessis, On middle and off, watchfully defended. |
| 19.1 : D Perera to Bavuma, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 19.2 : D Perera to Bavuma, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 19.3 : D Perera to Plessis, The batsman has punched the ball off the back foot. |
| 19.4 : D Perera to Plessis, Outside off, pushed towards cover for a single. |
| 19.5 : D Perera to Bavuma, Comes down the track and works it towards mid on for a run. |
| 19.6 : D Perera to Plessis, FOUR! Fine shot. Full and around off, Faf gets down and sweeps it uppishly, behind square leg for a boundary. |
| Third spinner. Lakshan Sandakan to bowl now. |
| 20.1 : L Sandakan to Bavuma, Full and spinning down the leg side, left alone. |
| 20.2 : L Sandakan to Bavuma, OUT! Dragged on! Half the side is back in the hut. This is turning out to be a sorry, sorry day for the Proteas. Floated outside off, Bavuma looks to sweep, rather slog sweep. He has to reach out a bit for the shot and ends up dragging it onto the stumps. Well, Herath struck in his second over. Dilruwan struck in his 5th. Sandakan has taken just 2 balls to strike. |
| DRINKS BREAK. Quinton de Kock has walked out to the middle. Counter-attack? |
| 20.3 : L Sandakan to Kock, Short and outside off, a touch wide, spinning away, cut through the covers for a couple. This is an achievement for South Africa - not the couple but 25 times that. |
| 20.4 : L Sandakan to Kock, Pushes this through the covers for a single. |
| 20.5 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Full and around off, driven straight back to the bowler. |
| 20.6 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Down the leg side, Faf misses his flick as Dickwella fumbles. A terrific start from Sandakan. |
| 21.1 : D Perera to Kock, Full and outside off, de Kock looks to defend but gets a bit of an inside edge. |
| 21.2 : D Perera to Kock, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 21.3 : D Perera to Kock, The batsman gets an inside edge and the ball hits him on the pads. |
| 21.4 : D Perera to Kock, Reaches out and defends. |
| 21.5 : D Perera to Kock, EDGED AND GONE! No? I need to go to my eye specialist immediately. Beautiful delivery. Tossed up outside off, de Kock comes down the track, looks to flick but is not quite to the pitch of the ball. It spins away, hits something and goes to Angelo Mathews at first slip. We all feel that there is an outside edge but Mathews is more interested in the run out. He has a shy at the striker's end but misses. De Kock would have been run out. |
| 21.6 : Perera to de Kock, OUT! BOWLED! That is a beauty. An off spinner's delight. |
| Bowled him! But is it a no ball? |
| Time for the all-rounders. Or bowlers who can bat. Vernon Philander is the first of them. |
| 22.1 : L Sandakan to Plessis, No run. |
| 22.2 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Very full, around off, driven towards mid off. |
| 22.3 : L Sandakan to Plessis, The batsman rocks onto the back foot and punches the ball. |
| 22.4 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Very full and outside off, defended watchfully. |
| 22.5 : L Sandakan to Plessis, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 22.6 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Pushes this wide of Rangana Herath at mid off and takes a quick single. |
| 23.1 : D Perera to Plessis, Full and outside off, Faf looks to flick but the ball goes off the leading edge through point. Two runs taken. |
| 23.2 : D Perera to Plessis, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 23.3 : D Perera to Plessis, A bit of flight on this one, watchfully defended. |
| 23.4 : D Perera to Plessis, On middle and leg, clipped through square leg for a single. |
| 23.5 : D Perera to V Philander, Driven through mid off by the batsman. |
| 23.6 : D Perera to V Philander, CATCH!!! Just short. A short ball on off, Philander looks to play that off his back foot but gets an inside edge onto his pads. The ball lobs up in the air but Kusal Mendis' dive is not enough to grab the catch at short leg. |
| 24.1 : L Sandakan to Plessis, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. They manage to come back for the second. |
| 24.2 : L Sandakan to du Plessis, Full and outside off, du Plessis reaches out and pushes it with an angled bat behind point for a single. The deficit is now 229. |
| 24.3 : L Sandakan to Philander, Very full, on middle and leg, flicked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 24.4 : L Sandakan to Philander, On middle and leg, played towards short leg. |
| 24.5 : L Sandakan to Philander, Outside off, left alone. |
| 24.6 : L Sandakan to Philander, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 25.1 : D Perera to Plessis, Full and outside off, du Plessis gets a long way across and looks to defend but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 25.2 : D Perera to Plessis, Now he looks to flick this from outside off but the ball goes off his pads to short leg. |
| 25.3 : D Perera to Plessis, Massive spin, from outside off, down the leg side, Faf misses his flick. |
| Dilruwan was charging in... but Faf stopped him. Some disturbance behind the sight screen. Perera starts again, only to be stopped again. 'OYE!' shouts Faf to the spectator in frustration. |
| 25.4 : D Perera to Plessis, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. |
| 25.5 : D Perera to du Plessis, The ball takes the outside edge goes towards the slip region. |
| 25.6 : D Perera to Plessis, Full and outside off, defended towards mid-wicket. |
| 26.1 : L Sandakan to Philander, The ball strikes the batsman very low on the pads. |
| 26.2 : L Sandakan to Philander, Full and down the leg side, left alone. |
| 26.3 : L Sandakan to Philander, Full and outside off, pushed towards mid off. |
| Akshay Kumara - What am I seeing? 21 overs already? And we are still some time from Lunch. @AkshayKumara - Well, it has been the day of the spinners. No seam at all. Not much scoring... you do expect the over-rate to be high... |
| 26.4 : L Sandakan to Philander, NEARLY THE 7TH! Tossed up outside off, Philander almost does a Bavuma - runs out of patience and attempts a mighty heave across the line - only to get a thick inside edge past the leg stump towards fine leg. A couple taken. Gets off the mark. |
| 26.5 : L Sandakan to V Philander, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 26.6 : L Sandakan to Philander, Short and outside off, cut straight to point. |
| 27.1 : D Perera to Plessis, Tossed up around off, du Plessis dead-bats it. |
| 27.2 : D Perera to Plessis, On middle and leg, Faf goes back and gently works it through mid-wicket for a single. The stand moves to 10. |
| 27.3 : D Perera to V Philander, Full and straight, Philander looks to defend and is hit on the pads. A mild shout goes up for LBW but then dies down. Replays show that the ball hit the bat and pad at the same time. |
| 27.4 : D Perera to Philander, Works this through the leg side for a run. |
| 27.5 : D Perera to Plessis, A touch short, on middle, played through mid-wicket for one. |
| 27.6 : D Perera to Philander, Goes back and works this straight to square leg. |
| 28.1 : L Sandakan to Plessis, The googly, outside leg, du Plessis initially looks to let it go but then spots the ball spinning in and defends. |
| 28.2 : L Sandakan to du Plessis, Driven through mid off by the batsman. |
| 28.3 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Full and on middle and leg, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 28.4 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Tossed up just outside off, Faf blocks it with a dead bat. |
| 28.5 : L Sandakan to Plessis, It's been driven superbly through the covers. |
| 28.6 : L Sandakan to du Plessis, FOUR! That is a top shot. Thrown up wide outside off, Faf reaches out and drives it through the covers for a rare boundary. |
| Rangana Herath is back on, with a change of ends. He will bowl from the end where Dilruwan was bowling. |
| 29.1 : R Herath to Philander, Tossed up slowly on middle, Philander comes forward and defends. |
| 29.2 : R Herath to Philander, Nice pace. Not much speed, but plenty of loop. This is around leg, Vernon stretches out and blocks. |
| 29.3 : R Herath to V Philander, This is on off, a bit quicker, driven straight to cover. |
| 29.4 : R Herath to Philander, Full and straight, watchfully defended. |
| 29.5 : R Herath to V Philander, Very full again, pushed to the off side. |
| 29.6 : R Herath to Philander, This spins, pitched outside leg, moving towards off, VP pushes it past short leg for a single. The deficit is now 219. |
| A long chat between Herath and Sandakan. |
| 30.1 : L Sandakan to Philander, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 30.2 : L Sandakan to Philander, On middle and leg, flicked to the on side. |
| 30.3 : L Sandakan to Philander, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 30.4 : L Sandakan to Philander, BEATEN. Tossed up outside off, Philander looks to drive but is foxed by the massive turn. It is too good for the keeper behind who is not able to grab it and the batsmen take a couple of byes. |
| 30.5 : L Sandakan to Philander, Pushes it back to the bowler who leaps to stop. |
| 30.6 : L Sandakan to Philander, Pushes this past cover towards mid off for a quick run. |
| 31.1 : R Herath to Philander, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 31.2 : R Herath to Philander, Close call. Flighted ball around off, Philander looks to defend but misses and is hit on the pads. Sri Lanka shout but then do not review on the verdict not being given. Was there an inside edge? Ummm... well replays show that the ball hit the pad, then the bat. Hawk Eye shows that to be hitting the stumps. |
| 31.3 : R Herath to Philander, The batsman was beaten and missed the line of the delivery. |
| 31.4 : R Herath to Philander, Full and outside off, driven towards mid off. |
| 31.5 : R Herath to V Philander, Driven through mid off by the batsman. |
| 31.6 : R Herath to Philander, The batsman has punched that ball through the off side. |
| 32.1 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Short and outside off, punched through the off side for a single. |
| 32.2 : L Sandakan to Philander, Full and outside off, pushed towards mid off. |
| 32.3 : L Sandakan to Philander, WRONG END! A better sense of the situation could have had Philander. He punches this in front of point and Faf wants to run for the single. He has already charged halfway down but Philander has not even moved. He now starts to run seeing his skipper ready to shake hands with him and as usual everyone shouts on the field. The fielder does what he thinks should be done - CONCENTRATE ON THE BALL, IGNORE THE COMMOTION. As a result, he does not see where Philander is an |
| 32.4 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 32.5 : L Sandakan to Plessis, Full and outside off, swept through square leg for a single. |
| 32.6 : L Sandakan to V Philander, Pushes this through mid off for a run. |
| 33.1 : R Herath to Philander, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 33.2 : R Herath to Philander, Pushes this back to the bowler. |
| 33.3 : R Herath to Philander, Outside off, defended watchfully. |
| Review taken by Philander. For LBW. Is the impact outside off? Is there bat? |
| 33.4 : Herath to Philander, NOT OUT. Impact is outside the line. The arm ball, outside off, Philander looks to cut that off the back foot but misses and is hit on the pads. Umpire Reiffel gives it a thought and then raises the finger. Philander has a chat with his partner and then takes the review. One look is good enough but the entire procedure is followed - first the inside edge checked, then Hawk Eye. The ball is not even coming in to hit the stumps. |
| 33.5 : R Herath to Philander, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 33.6 : R Herath to Plessis, Ball hits the batsman low on the pads. |
| 34.1 : L Sandakan to V Philander, Short and outside off, cut straight to point. |
| 34.2 : L Sandakan to Philander, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 34.3 : L Sandakan to Philander, Around off, Philander dead-bats it. |
| 34.4 : L Sandakan to Philander, More fuller stuff, pushed to the off side. |
| 34.5 : L Sandakan to Philander, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 34.6 : L Sandakan to Philander, Full again, outside off, pushed towards cover. |
| 35.1 : R Herath to Plessis, Tossed up outside off, du Plessis gets across and defends. |
| 35.2 : R Herath to Plessis, First sign of loss of patience from Faf. Lunch is not far from here. Jumps down the track, is nowhere near the pitch of the ball and drags his attempted cover drive towards mid on. |
| 35.3 : R Herath to Plessis, This time he stays put and defends. |
| 35.4 : R Herath to Plessis, Oh... Lakmal is on the field. Not that he was not, just that it is nice to spot him. You know, he is also playing. Full and outside off, FdP jumps out again, gets to the pitch of the ball this time and drives it through mid off but his counterpart dives to his left and puts in a half stop. Just a single. |
| 35.5 : R Herath to Philander, FOUR! Nice shot. Tossed up outside off, Philander reaches out and drives it through the covers for a boundary. |
| 35.6 : R Herath to Philander, Full and outside off, Philander plays it with an angled bat past slip for a run. |
| Wow. Stop the press. Pace is here. Suranga Lakmal to bowl what will now be the final over before Lunch. |
| 36.1 : S Lakmal to Philander, Outside off, punched towards cover. |
| 36.2 : S Lakmal to Philander, Outside off, pretty wide, can be left alone on length, IS left alone on length. |
| 36.3 : S Lakmal to Philander, On a length around off, Vernon dead-bats it. |
| 36.4 : S Lakmal to Philander, Outside off, punched through the covers for a couple. |
| 36.5 : S Lakmal to Philander, Outside off, punched wide of cover for a single. Danushka Gunathilaka gets to the ball, takes it a bit easy and then turns around for a shy at the bowler's end and hits Philander's pad instead. |
| 36.6 : S Lakmal to Plessis, Full and outside off, pushed wide of point for a single. LUNCH ON DAY 2, SOUTH AFRICA TRAIL BY 201! |
| Horrifying session for the visitors. 33 overs, 82 runs and 5 wickets. And the pitch has not even started to explode. It has been basically mind games and Sri Lanka have convincingly won that battle. |
| There is nothing wrong with the track. Just a hint of spin and nothing more. No venom. No bite. Just that word S-P-I-N has put the African batsmen's heads in a spin. They were treated to 32 overs of craftiness and one over of seam from the captain. The Protea batsmen were found wanting in terms of footwork and could not read the length at all. |
| Hashim Amla showed some application but not for long while Faf du Plessis and Vernon Philander's stand of 35 from 90 balls clearly suggests that this is not a 51/6 pitch - which was what the South African scorecard read at one point of time. |
| NIYAMA, NIYAMA Sri Lanka. This is called out thinking the opposition. Not much needed to be done in terms of effort and they just concentrated on accuracy in line and length. Result? You can check the scorecard. Expect more of the same when the clock goes past 1240 local (0710 GMT) as that is the time of resumption... |
| ... DAY 2, SESSION 2 ... |
| We are back for the second session. How long can the Faf-Vernon pair drag this fightback? How long can South Africa bat? The answers will get clearer soon. Dilruwan Perera to start off proceedings after Lunch. Faf to face. Here we go... |
| 37.1 : D Perera to Plessis, Full and outside off, du Plessis looks to hack this away and mistimes it to mid off. |
| 37.2 : D Perera to Plessis, The ball has found the edge of the bat. They manage to come back for the second. SOUTH AFRICA HAVE NOW OFFICIALLY AVOIDED THE FOLLOW-ON. |
| 37.3 : D Perera to Plessis, Full and around leg, watchfully patted away. |
| 37.4 : D Perera to Plessis, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 37.5 : D Perera to Plessis, The batsman works it down the leg side. |
| 37.6 : D Perera to Plessis, Goes back on his crease and blocks. |
| Herath time... |
| 38.1 : R Herath to Philander, Full and straight, watchfully defended. |
| 38.2 : R Herath to Philander, On middle, pushed past short mid-wicket for a quick single. |
| 38.3 : R Herath to Plessis, Very full and straight, blocked towards short leg. |
| 38.4 : R Herath to Plessis, The arm ball now, Faf is a bit late in getting his bat down and gets a thick inside edge, just in front of short leg. |
| 38.5 : R Herath to du Plessis, Now the one which spins away, now FdP gets an outside edge past slip as he looks to block. |
| 38.6 : R Herath to du Plessis, Full and around off, eased past point for a run. |
| 39.1 : D Perera to Plessis, JUST SHORT. Full and outside leg, du Plessis looks to flick but the ball runs off the inside edge and goes towards leg gully where Dhananjaya de Silva dives to his right but cannot quite get the catch as the ball lands in front. |
| 39.2 : D Perera to Plessis, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. They pick up a single. |
| 39.3 : D Perera to Philander, Outside off, Philander plays for the turn - there is none. A play and a miss. |
| 39.4 : D Perera to Philander, The batsman works it down the leg side. |
| 39.5 : D Perera to Philander, Full and around off, watchfully blocked. |
| 39.6 : D Perera to Philander, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 40.1 : R Herath to Plessis, Full and around off, driven towards cover. |
| 40.2 : R Herath to Plessis, Well played. Full and outside off, spinning away, du Plessis plays that with an open bat-face, towards Angelo Mathews at first slip who cannot stop it and the ball goes through. Two runs taken. |
| 40.3 : R Herath to Plessis, Outside off, punched straight to cover. |
| 40.4 : R Herath to Plessis, Full and straight, watchfully defended. |
| 40.5 : R Herath to Plessis, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 40.6 : R Herath to Plessis, The ball has taken the inside edge of the bat and goes down the leg side. One run added to the total. |
| 41.1 : D Perera to Plessis, Tossed up around off, defended back to the bowler. |
| 41.2 : D Perera to Plessis, Full and outside off, du Plessis has a swipe but misses. |
| 41.3 : D Perera to Plessis, Pushes this towards mid on but the bowler gets across to his right to stop. |
| 41.4 : D Perera to Plessis, Full on middle, pushed towards mid-wicket. |
| 41.5 : D Perera to Plessis, Gets across his stumps and blocks. |
| 41.6 : D Perera to du Plessis, Comes down the track, takes the ball on the full and drives it towards mid off. |
| 42.1 : R Herath to Philander, Tossed up around off, watchfully defended. |
| 42.2 : R Herath to Philander, Pitched around leg stump, blocked back to the bowler. |
| 42.3 : R Herath to Philander, Comes over the wicket, bowls it around leg, defended to cover. |
| 42.4 : R Herath to Philander, Full and straight, dead-batted by the batsman. |
| 42.5 : R Herath to Philander, Down the leg side, Philander misses his flick while the keeper fumbles. |
| 42.6 : R Herath to Philander, Lovely ball. Tosses this one on middle, Vernon lunges to block but then the ball spins away to beat the outside edge. |
| 43.1 : D Perera to Plessis, Full and around off, du Plessis looks to defend. |
| 43.2 : D Perera to Plessis, Around off, Faf looks to block but the ball spins away to square him up, takes the outside edge and goes past slip to third man. A couple taken. |
| 43.3 : D Perera to Plessis, FOUR! 100 UP FOR SOUTH AFRICA! The second 50 has taken 138 balls but it has resulted in lesser number of wickets. Full and outside off, du Plessis gets down and sweeps it through mid-wicket for a boundary. The deficit is now 187. |
| 43.4 : D Perera to Plessis, The batsman failed to make contact and was hit low on the pads. |
| 43.5 : D Perera to Plessis, On middle and leg, flicked towards mid-wicket. |
| 43.6 : D Perera to du Plessis, The ball has found the edge of the bat. |
| 44.1 : R Herath to Philander, Pitched outside leg, Philander looks to defend but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 44.2 : R Herath to Philander, Outside leg again, this time Vernon pads it away. |
| Late backing... Herath was already into his delivery stride and about to release the ball but at that precise moment, a crow flew by and he pulled out. Dead ball signalled. |
| 44.3 : R Herath to Philander, The arm ball outside off, shouldered arms to. |
| 44.4 : R Herath to Philander, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 44.5 : R Herath to Philander, Down the leg side, VP tries his best to pad that away but the ball goes straight on and misses his pad on its way to the keeper. |
| 44.6 : R Herath to Philander, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 45.1 : Perera to Plessis, A mild LBW shout. Probably turning too much. Bounce as well. Landed around off, spinning in, du Plessis comes forward to defend but then the ball spits through, going past the inside edge and hit the pad. |
| 45.2 : D Perera to Plessis, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 45.3 : D Perera to Plessis, MISFIELD, FOUR! Outside off, pushed towards mid off. Captain Lakmal goes to his right but as his name suggests in Sanskrit - SURANGA - he creates a tunnel and the ball goes through to the long off fence. |
| 45.4 : D Perera to Plessis, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 45.5 : D Perera to Philander, Driven towards the mid off region. |
| 45.6 : D Perera to Philander, The batsman works it down the leg side. One run added to the total. |
| 46.1 : R Herath to Philander, Full and just around off, watchfully defended. |
| 46.2 : R Herath to Philander, BEATEN! Slower through the air, outside off, fuller in length, Philander gets forward to defend but the ball spins past the outside edge. |
| 46.3 : R Herath to Philander, Full again, just around off, well blocked out. |
| 46.4 : R Herath to Philander, Full and just outside off, Vernon takes his bat out of the way. |
| 46.5 : R Herath to Philander, This is in line of the stumps, VP defends it with his pad close to his bat. |
| 46.6 : R Herath to Philander, Outside off, pushed towards cover. |
| 47.1 : D Perera to Plessis, A touch short on middle, played in front of short leg. |
| 47.2 : D Perera to Plessis, Much fuller, similar line, du Plessis lunges to block. |
| 47.3 : D Perera to Plessis, Again on the shorter side, Faf is back in a flash to nudge the ball through fine leg for a single. |
| 47.4 : D Perera to Philander, Goes back in his crease and blocks. |
| 47.5 : D Perera to Philander, EDGED, DROPPED! A chance, a tough one but Mathews almost pulls off a stunner. Full and outside off, Philander looks to defend but the ball takes the outside edge. It goes on to hit Dickwella's pad who is late to react. The ball dies in front of Angelo Mathews at first slip who lunges to catch but is unable to take it. The ball then hits his head, rolls down his spine, he tries again, so does Dhananjaya de Silva from leg slip as he tries to get across but the ball fal |
| 47.6 : D Perera to Philander, The batsman has attempted to put bat on ball - but fails. |
| Suranga Lakmal is on to bowl. I guess for more than a solitary over which he did in the first session. |
| 48.1 : S Lakmal to Plessis, FOUR! Du Plessis likes pace. On a length around off, Faf gets on top of the bounce and punches it through the covers for a boundary. The deficit is now 178. Faf has moved to 7 short of a half century. |
| 48.2 : S Lakmal to Plessis, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 48.3 : S Lakmal to Plessis, Outside off, is that REVERSING? FdP seemed to be surprised as well as he played that late, guiding it to first slip. |
| 48.4 : S Lakmal to Plessis, EDGED, FOUR! No second slip. Full and wide outside off, Faf is feeling like that child who has been quiet due to his disciplined father and then the moment his father is not in his presence, becomes mischievous. The Protea skipper does not move his feet at all, just throws his bat at it and gets a thick outside edge through the vacant second slip to the third man fence. The stand moves to 62. |
| 48.5 : S Lakmal to du Plessis, Now an inside edge, as he plays away from the ball again, getting it past the stumps to fine leg. A single results. |
| 48.6 : S Lakmal to Philander, The batsman has punched that ball through the off side. |
| 49.1 : D Perera to Plessis, Full on middle, flicked towards short mid-wicket. |
| 49.2 : D Perera to Plessis, Pushes this wide of cover for a single. |
| 49.3 : D Perera to Philander, Nice loop on this one, outside off, Philander gets forward to defend but the ball goes off the inside edge and lands just short of short leg. |
| LBW! But Philander wants a review... impact perhaps? |
| 49.4 : Perera to Philander, OUT! Dilruwan has provided the breakthrough. Don't quite understand the need of that review, unless it has been done in desperation. Or maybe Philander thought that umpire's call could come into play and the review will be saved. But nope. South Africa have lost a wicket and a review. This is pitched around off, Philander stays back to work it to the leg side but the ball drifts in a touch, straightens a touch and hits the batsman plumb in front. Philander does not eve |
| Kagiso Rabada is the new man in. |
| 49.5 : D Perera to Rabada, Outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 49.6 : D Perera to Rabada, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 50.1 : S Lakmal to Plessis, OUT! Reverse swing and the captain has been dislodged! Lakmal has not bowled much in this innings but he has chosen to come at a time when the ball has started to reverse. And he is a great exponent of the same. Lands it on a length outside off, du Plessis looks to defend but then the ball comes in a long way, goes right through the gap between bat and pad and BOOM. Hits the top of off. Nothing much that Faf could have done. He held fort at the Galle Fort for so long a |
| 0.0 : Dale Steyn walks in at number 10. Time for some entertainment now? |
| 50.2 : S Lakmal to D Steyn, FOUR! Streaky. Outside off, on a length, Steyn looks to defend but the ball moves away a touch, takes the outside edge and goes through the vacant second slip region to the third man fence. A strike rate of 400 to begin his innings. The deficit is now 168. |
| 50.3 : S Lakmal to Steyn, Around off, Dale plays away from his body and gets a bit of an inside edge onto the track. |
| 50.4 : S Lakmal to Steyn, More loose stuff. Looks to drive away from his body and gets it off the inner half of the bat towards mid on. |
| 50.5 : S Lakmal to Steyn, The batsman has driven it through mid off. |
| 50.6 : S Lakmal to Steyn, Works it off the inner half of the bat through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 51.1 : D Perera to D Steyn, Full and outside off, defended watchfully. |
| 51.2 : D Perera to Steyn, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 51.3 : D Perera to Steyn, Down the leg side, Steyn misses his flick as the ball spins away. |
| 51.4 : D Perera to Steyn, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 51.5 : D Perera to Steyn, Full and just around off, Steyn gets across and defends. |
| 51.6 : D Perera to Steyn, Full and outside off, DS gets across to flick but misses and is hit on the box. |
| 52.1 : S Lakmal to Rabada, On middle, flicked through square leg for a couple. Gets off the mark. |
| 52.2 : S Lakmal to Rabada, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| Meanwhile, Tabraiz Shamsi is all smiles in the dressing room. Maybe, he is thinking, aha... I shall be getting a chance to bowl on this spinner's paradise soon. Or... perhaps he just enjoys cricket as a whole and not quite focussing on the mire in which his team is in. |
| 52.3 : S Lakmal to Rabada, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 52.4 : S Lakmal to Rabada, LBW shout, but the umpire is more interested in where Lakmal is going in his followthrough. The ball was sliding down the leg side as Rabada missed his flick. Replays show that Lakmal landed on the danger area while trying to stop the ball. |
| 52.5 : S Lakmal to Rabada, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 52.6 : S Lakmal to Rabada, NO BALL. For height. Way too short, Rabada ducks. The umpire signals a no ball. |
| S Lakmal to Rabada, OUT! Another peach from Lakmal. Too good for Rabada. Comes in from wide of the crease, around the wicket and pitches it well outside off. Rabada looks to defend, thinking that he has covered the line but the ball comes in, goes through the gap between bat and pad and hits the off stump. Not as good a delivery as the one to Faf but a decent nut, enough to go through the defenses of Rabada. |
| DRINKS BREAK. And Tabraiz Shamsi comes along with some of his other mates. |
| 53.1 : D Perera to Steyn, Outside off, Steyn stays back in his crease and blocks. |
| 53.2 : D Perera to Steyn, Full and outside off, Steyn pushes this through the off side but the ball goes off the outside edge past Mathews at slip instead. Both batsmen set off for a run, both see each other, yet both collide with neither refusing to change track, expecting the other to move. In the end, two runs are taken. |
| 53.3 : D Perera to Steyn, On middle and leg, Dale gets across and works it past short leg for a single. |
| 53.4 : D Perera to Shamsi, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 53.5 : D Perera to Shamsi, Full and straight, Shamsi gets across and clumsily plays it towards short mid-wicket. |
| 53.6 : D Perera to Shamsi, Another clumsy defense to end the over. |
| 54.1 : S Lakmal to Steyn, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 54.2 : S Lakmal to Steyn, The batsman fails to put bat on ball. |
| 54.3 : S Lakmal to D Steyn, OUT! Edged and gone. Who would have thought - Lakmal has 3. Not because he cannot take it - but because at one point of time, we thought he will not bowl at all. On a length outside off, Steyn just swings his bat but only gets an outside edge. Simple catch for Angelo Mathews at first slip who has his third of the inning. SRI LANKA GET A LEAD OF 161!!! |
| 126 - the lowest Test score in an inning for South Africa in the Island nation. They might put it down to the pitch but trust me, this is not a 126 all out wicket at all. It has all been in their minds, perhaps the fear of getting consumed by spin and playing it defensively ultimately. |
| After a sorry first hour, the Proteas have managed to play on for two more hours, recovering slightly, from 51/6 to 126. Faf du Plessis has been the catalyst, with a fine 49 while the second highest scorer was Philander, with his 18 - adding a face-saving 64 for the 7th wicket with his skipper. The top or middle order did not spend enough time at the crease, let alone contribute. Just too defensive were they against spin - not quite reading it from the hand, but off the pitch - not sure whether |
| 7 wickets for the spinners is pretty much expected in Sri Lanka - but not in the first innings. They were crafty - deceiving the batsmen in flight and beating them with change of pace. The lines and lengths were outstanding and accurate too. And then, just when the visitors thought they had the measure of the spinners, on came Lakmal and picked up 3 wickets in the span of 15 balls, thanks to reverse swing. |
| What can South Africa do in the second innings? The pitch is expected to deteriorate from Day 3. Can they bundle out Sri Lanka within 140 or 150? As far as the hosts are concerned, their first aim will be to see off these 35-odd minutes before Tea. 37 overs left in the day... |
| 0.1 : K Rabada to D Gunathilaka, FOUR! Flashy stroke to get going. On a length, not all that short, outside off, Gunathilaka throws his bat at it and gets it behind point for a boundary. |
| 0.2 : K Rabada to Gunathilaka, Pitched outside leg, Danushka misses his flick and is hit on the pads. |
| 0.3 : K Rabada to Gunathilaka, Outside off, a play and a miss. |
| 0.4 : K Rabada to Gunathilaka, The batsman has punched that ball through the off side. |
| 0.5 : K Rabada to Gunathilaka, Outside off, left alone. |
| 0.6 : K Rabada to Gunathilaka, The batsman has driven that ball straight back. One run added to the total. |
| Dale Steyn to bowl from the other end. |
| 1.1 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Oohhh... smart ploy from the bowler. He comes running in, giving the impression that he is going to bowl at 150 clicks. Instead, he bowls a slower ball, completely deceiving Gunathilaka completely. The southpaw is months early into a forward push and ends up chipping it uppishly. Luckily or him, there is no mid off and he gets a couple. |
| 1.2 : D Steyn to D Gunathilaka, On middle, pushed towards mid on. |
| 1.3 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, NEARLY A CHANCE! Another slower ball on middle, once again Danushka is early into his straight drive. He just pushes this back, ending up chipping it aerially. Steyn puts in a leap for the return catch but the ball eludes him. |
| 1.4 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Full on middle, pushed towards mid on. |
| 1.5 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, The batsman has been struck on the thigh pad. |
| 1.6 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Around off, defended from the crease. |
| 2.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Around off, defended towards cover. |
| 2.2 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, On middle and leg, Karunaratne chips it uppishly through mid-wicket for a couple. Poor running. Vernon Philander was only jogging from mid on. There was an opportunity for the third. |
| 2.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 2.4 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Goes back in his crease and blocks. |
| 2.5 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. Two runs added to the total. |
| 2.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, FOUR! Edged away. On a length outside off, Karunaratne pushes at this one and gets a healthy outside edge - but wide of second slip - to the third man fence. |
| 3.1 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 3.2 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 3.3 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| 3.4 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Fuller and around off, watchfully blocked out. |
| 3.5 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, The batsman has punched that ball through the off side. |
| 3.6 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 4.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 4.2 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Bouncer! The batsman does well to evade it. |
| 4.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Outside off, punched through the covers for a couple. |
| 4.4 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 4.5 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, The batsman has punched that ball through the off side. |
| 4.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Outside off, left alone. |
| Keshav Maharaj is brought on to bowl. Meanwhile, it has gone overcast and the ground staff is getting ready with the covers. It rained at around 1420 local yesterday. |
| 5.1 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Full and outside off to start, watchfully defended. |
| 5.2 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Comes down the track, gets to the pitch of the ball and defends it. |
| An early review. Maharaj thinks Gunathilaka is LBW. Where is the impact? |
| 5.3 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, UMPIRE'S CALL! So close... some solace for South Africa that they do not lose a review. But this wicket would have raised their morale. Not all that short, outside off, but Danushka creates his own length by going back to a ball which should have been played on the front foot. Misses his flick and is hit on the pads. He had walked across and hence perhaps the umpire thought that the impact was outside off. The Proteas ponder for a while before getting it reviewed a |
| 5.4 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, The batsman has punched the ball off the back foot. |
| 5.5 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Comes down the track and pushes it to long on for a single. |
| 5.6 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| Spin from both ends. Tabraiz Shamsi comes on to bowl. The ground staff is as ready as a swimmer, about to dive into the pool on the gun shot. |
| 6.1 : T Shamsi to Gunathilaka, Full and around off, spinning away, Gunathilaka looks to defend but the ball takes the outside edge and goes past slip. |
| 6.2 : T Shamsi to Gunathilaka, Full and outside off, driven towards mid off. |
| 6.3 : T Shamsi to Gunathilaka, On middle, flicked past short leg. |
| 6.4 : T Shamsi to Gunathilaka, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot for a single. |
| 6.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. One run added to the total. |
| 6.6 : T Shamsi to Gunathilaka, Outside off, a play and a miss. |
| 7.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, A touch short, punched past short leg for a single. |
| 7.2 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, DROPPED! Lazy from Bavuma. Full and outside off, Gunathilaka gets across and paddles it uppishly. Temba Bavuma does extremely well to run to his left from square leg, gets to the ball but then takes it lightly and puts it down. A single taken. |
| 7.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Played to the mid-wicket region by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| 7.4 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Outside off, Danushka stays back and defends. |
| 7.5 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 7.6 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| Kagiso Rabada is back on. |
| 8.1 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, On a length outside off, watchfully defended to the off side. |
| 8.2 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Stays back and blocks. |
| 8.3 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, The batsman has punched that ball through the off side. |
| 8.4 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 8.5 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Outside off, punched through the covers where the fielder does extremely well to make a half-stop. Two runs taken. |
| 8.6 : K Rabada to Karunaratne, Excellent yorker, a rarity in Test cricket. Karunaratne jams it out to the bowler. |
| 9.1 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Tossed up outside off, Gunathilaka comes down the track to flick but is not to the pitch of the ball. Misses his flick and the ball lobs off his pads to the vacant off side. |
| 9.2 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 9.3 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Full and outside off, pushed straight to cover. |
| 9.4 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 9.5 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Landed outside off, defended from the crease. |
| 9.6 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Another back foot defense to end the over and session. TEA ON DAY 2, SRI LANKA LEAD BY 186! |
| Nice period for the Lankans. They could have lost a wicket or two but have managed to survive the tricky period. Gunathilaka started off in an attacking fashion but has then slowed down, becoming cautious. Karunaratne on the other hand, has been more agile, taking all the singles on offer and rotating the strike more often. |
| Faf du Plessis will be disappointed with the score. He should have had at least a wicket by now but has seen the new ball almost being seen off. None of his bowlers has bowled badly but he needs that wicket column to be filled in quickly. The lead has swelled to 186 and Faf will hope that he tries and gets the Lankans all out within the next 100 runs. Join us back at 1500 local (0930 GMT) for the remaining 27 overs of the day. |
| ...DAY 2, THIRD SESSION... |
| We're back for the last session. A minimum of 27 overs left in the day's play. The players are back on the field and it will be Dale Steyn to steam in first up. All set, here we go... |
| 10.1 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Starts with angling a full ball away from the batsman, Dimuth pushes it with an angled bat through the gap at cover-point for a couple. |
| 10.2 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, On a length around middle and off, defended off the back foot. |
| 10.3 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, FOUR! Eased away! Width on offer outside off, Karunaratne camps back inside the crease and just guides it through backward point for a boundary. |
| 10.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, An inswinger by Steyn but the line is middle and leg. Dimuth fails to flick and is hit on the pads. A stifled appeal for an lbw dies down quickly. |
| 10.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Once again the line of the delivery is quite straight and it has been worked away in front of square leg for a single. |
| 10.6 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Another delivery drifting down the leg side, Gunathilaka fails to flick and it goes off his pads to fine leg. A leg bye taken. Going on easily, Sri Lanka. |
| 11.1 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Tossed up delivery on off, spinning in, Gunathilaka moves back and helps it off his pads to backward square leg. |
| 11.2 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Flatter and shorter outside off, defended from the back foot to the off side. |
| 11.3 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Loopy ball on off, turning in again with extra bounce, Danushka helps it quietly to backward square leg again. |
| 11.4 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Turning into the batsman from the rough outside off, DG tries to sweep but misses to get hit on the pads. The impact was outside off and hence no real appeal. |
| 11.5 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Allows the ball to spin back into him and then dead bats it on the leg side. |
| 11.6 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Jumps out of the crease this time to smother the spin and then defends it back to end the over. |
| 12.1 : D Steyn to D Karunaratne, Short in length and on middle, it has been eased down to fine leg via a pull shot for a single. |
| 12.2 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Angling away from the batsman, on a fuller length, Gunathilaka is lured into the cover drive but fails to make any connection. |
| 12.3 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, In line of the stumps, tapped towards mid-wicket for a single. |
| 12.4 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Fullish and outside off, driven square of the wicket on the off side but straight to the point fielder. |
| 12.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Karunaratne opens the face of the bat and helps it to third man. Two runs added to the total. |
| 12.6 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Lands it on a length around off, angling away again, Karunaratne plays from the crease to the off side. |
| 13.1 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Floated full ball landing outside off, it has been defended off the front foot by Gunathilaka. |
| 13.2 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Flatter this time, outside off, Danushka gets across the stumps and defends. |
| 13.3 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Runs down the track and seeing that the bowler bowls it wide outside off. Gunathilaka somehow reaches there and then tries to defend. It takes the inside half of the bat and goes a bit uppishly but wide of short leg. |
| 13.4 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Quicker and fuller on off, Danushka goes down and across to sweep it past Maharaj at backward square leg. He dives but fails to make the stop. Dean Elgar cuts it off in the deep and they take a couple of runs. Lead crosses 200 now! |
| 13.5 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Another sweep shot by Gunathilaka but this time it goes straight to the fielder in the deep at square leg and they take only a run. |
| 13.6 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, The batsman dances down the track and does well to block the ball. |
| 14.1 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Steyn steams in and bangs in a bouncer around middle, Gunathilaka ducks underneath it. |
| 14.2 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Bowls it full and outside off, Danushka plants his front foot forward, watches the line closely and then decides not to offer any shot. |
| 14.3 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Bouncer again, on off, it's been ducked under by the batsman. |
| 14.4 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, Effort ball. Steyn bends his back as he lets out a back of a length ball around off, Gunathilaka sticks inside the crease and at the very last moment runs it down to third man for a single. |
| 14.5 : D Steyn to Karunaratne, Good length ball outside off, pushed past the point fielder for a run. All too easy at the moment for the Sri Lankan openers. |
| Slip comes up. Only a gully in place now. There is a third man present as well. |
| 14.6 : D Steyn to Gunathilaka, In the channel outside off, leaving the batsman after landing, Gunathilaka makes a leave. |
| 15.1 : K Maharaj to D Karunaratne, Big spin and bounce into the batsman from outside off, Karunaratne stays back to defend but it takes the inside edge and hits him on the pads. |
| 15.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Walks down to the pitch of the delivery and forces it down to long on for a run. |
| 15.3 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Aerial, catch, catch, the bowler screams but... Flighted full ball landing outside off and turning back in, Dimuth tries to play the reverse sweep but it takes his gloves (probably) and loops on the off side. The keeper runs across to his left, Amla from first slip also reacts (just for the sake of reacting) but the ball lands safely. |
| 15.4 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Tossed up delivery outside off, left alone. |
| 15.5 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 15.6 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, The batsman plays a sweep shot. They pick up a single. |
| Vernon Philander gets a first look-in in this innings. |
| 16.1 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Push and a miss! Full and outside off, going away from the batsman with the angle, Gunathilaka has a tame poke inside the line but misses. |
| 16.2 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, Fuller and on off, Gunathilaka gets forward and defends it near his front pad. |
| 16.3 : V Philander to Gunathilaka, With a silly mid off in place, Philander runs in and delivers a length ball outside off. Gunathilaka pushes it with an angled bat towards backward point where Rabada dives to his right to make a partial stop. Danushka waits for it and then decides to cross. A bit of misunderstanding but they eventually complete the run with ease. |
| 16.4 : V Philander to D Karunaratne, FOUR! That's a poor delivery. An overpitched on outside off, Karunaratne offers the full face of the bat and drills it down through mid off for a boundary. |
| 16.5 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Karunaratne has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 16.6 : V Philander to Karunaratne, A length ball on off, Dimuth stays back to push it towards Rabada at point who misfields and parries it behind. They pick up a single. End of a harmless over. The 50-run stand is up. Lead is 211. |
| 17.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Slower delivery landing outside off and spinning in, Karunaratne walks down the track and then tries to defend. Not sure he middled that. |
| 17.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Gets forward to a full ball and defends it with the spin to mid-wicket. |
| 17.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Tossed up ball landing outside off, Dimuth gets well across the stumps in an attempt to play the reverse sweep but misses. It goes very closely past the off pole. |
| 17.4 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Strides forward and plays it with soft hands to point for one. |
| 17.5 : K Maharaj to Gunathilaka, OUT! Gunathilaka holes out! This is absolutely against the run of play. Keshav tosses this one up in the air and lands it on a fuller length outside off. It curls back in after pitching as Danushka skips down the track for a big shot. He probably wanted to go straight but on the point of impact his bat turns in his hands and he ends up ballooning it towards wide long on. Rabada in the deep runs across to his left and takes the catch safely. Maharaj is all pumped u |
| Dhananjaya de Silva is the number 3 batsman. |
| 17.6 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Flighted full ball on off, defended of the front foot to the off side. |
| A slip and gully in place for the new batsman as Philander runs in to bowl. |
| 18.1 : V Philander to Silva, Angles in a full length ball on off, de Silva works it off his pads to mid-wicket. |
| 18.2 : V Philander to Silva, Good length ball on off, it's defended off the back foot to the leg side. |
| 18.3 : V Philander to Silva, Length delivery slanting down the leg side, Dhananjaya tries to flick but misses. |
| 18.4 : V Philander to Silva, Full and on middle, easily worked behind square leg for a single. |
| 18.5 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Once again Philander is on the pads of the batsman. Karunaratne tickles it through square leg for a run. |
| 18.6 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Oohh...that stayed low. Philander serves it on a good length around off, holding its line and keeping low. Dimuth sticks back to put bat on ball but beats the inside edge and it goes on one bounce to the keeper. |
| 19.1 : K Maharaj to Silva, Flighted full ball on off, defended off the front foot to the off side. |
| 19.2 : K Maharaj to Silva, Advances down the track to a fuller length ball and pushes it right back. The bowler dives to stop it to his right but ends up kicking it wide of mid on. There is a run on offer but they decide not to cross. |
| 19.3 : K Maharaj to Silva, Ufff...that's a very risky stroke. Maharaj slips in an arm ball outside off and it skids back in after landing. Dhananjaya gets back inside the crease and then plays a very late cut, almost off the off stump. Manages to place it behind point, Bavuma chases it down and they take a couple. |
| 19.4 : K Maharaj to Silva, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 19.5 : K Maharaj to Silva, Gets on the front foot to a full ball and presents a straight bat in defense. |
| 19.6 : K Maharaj to Silva, SIX! This shot has 'enough is enough' written all over it. Gives the charge to a tossed up delivery around off, reaches the pitch of the ball in a flash and powers it over long on for a biggie. |
| 20.1 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 20.2 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Lands it on a length close to the off stump line, Karunaratne defends it off his back foot. |
| 20.3 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Good length ball on middle and leg, helped off the pads but straight to mid-wicket. |
| 20.4 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Identical to the last delivery, once again it has been worked across the line but straight towards the mid-wicket fielder. |
| 20.5 : V Philander to Karunaratne, Back of a length delivery on off, Dimuth punches it off his back foot towards extra cover. The fielder there reacts to his left but fails to stop. Although du Plessis manages to do so with a dive after coming from mid off. A single taken. |
| 20.6 : V Philander to Silva, Full and on off, blocked from the crease to end the over. |
| 21.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Takes a step down the track and flicks it past the diving mid-wicket fielder. Steyn there dived over the ball and let it pass. A single taken. |
| 21.2 : Maharaj to de Silva, OUT! Sound of timber! That's a dream delivery. Maharaj is delighted. He produces a gem to dismiss Dhananjaya. Gives this one a good toss in the air and lands it around leg. It spins away from there to square up the batsman in defense and then goes on to kiss the top of off stump. What a sight for any bowler. Maharaj is doing his bit to keep South Africa somewhere in this Test match. De Silva got stuck inside the crease, could have done better with his front foot moveme |
| Kusal Mendis is the new batsman. |
| 21.3 : K Maharaj to Mendis, Spin and bounce, outside off, left alone by Mendis. |
| 21.4 : K Maharaj to K Mendis, Arm ball on off, defended off the front foot. |
| Kusal Mendis is adjudged lbw! He looks at his partner and then takes the referral. Only pitching seems to be an issue as otherwise everything looks adjacent. Let's see... |
| 21.5 : K Maharaj to Mendis, OUT! Mendis is dead in front. Enough part of the ball landed on the leg stump line. Keshav can continue to celebrate. This is the 5th duck bagged by Kusal in Tests, second at this venue. Coming to the delivery, once again Maharaj gives it good air and gets it to spin away. Mendis also is caught napping on the back foot as he misses the ball to get hit on the back pad. They appeal and the finger goes up. Mendis has a clueless look on his face, looks at his partner and t |
| Drinks break. Angelo Mathews meanwhile has joined Karunaratne in the middle with Sri Lanka leading by 225 runs. |
| 21.6 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Flighted full ball on off, Mathews defends it off his front foot. Two wickets and a run from the over, a brilliant one by Maharaj. |
| Tabraiz Shamsi is back on. |
| 22.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Short and outside off, Karunaratne gets back and slaps it to sweeper cover for a run. |
| 22.2 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 22.3 : T Shamsi to Mathews, The batsman dances down the track but decides to defend it. |
| 22.4 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Spin and bounce after landing around middle, Mathews stays back to work it around but misses to take a blow on his body. |
| 22.5 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 22.6 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Flighted and outside off, a bit on the shorter side, Mathews watchfully defends it from the back foot. |
| 23.1 : K Maharaj to D Karunaratne, Flighted and landing outside off, Karunaratne jumps out of the crease and then tries to defend. But it spins back in to take the inside edge. Luckily for Dimuth, it goes wide of short leg. |
| 23.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Tries to drive it through the line but ends up mistiming it back to the bowler. |
| 23.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, FOUR! Very well played! Tossed up ball landing outside off, Karunaratne gets across the stumps and plays a well-executed paddle sweep through short fine leg for a boundary. |
| 23.4 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, FOUR! A flighted ball on off, Karunaratne is down the track immediately and drills it back past the bowler for a boundary. He continues his merry way, completely unfazed. |
| 23.5 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 23.6 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Spinning back in from around off, helped to square leg. |
| 24.1 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Floated and on leg, worked with the spin to mid-wicket. |
| 24.2 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Loopy and on middle, Mathews defends it off his front foot to the leg side. |
| 24.3 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Flighted and on off, turning back in, Mathews tries to play it with a straight bat but it takes the inner half of the bat and rolls towards backward square leg. The fielder there makes a diving stop but cannot prevent the single. |
| 24.4 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Tossed up and on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 24.5 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Full toss on middle, whipped across the line but Maharaj did well at mid-wicket to stop the racing ball. |
| 24.6 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Nicely tossed up ball on off, landing on a fuller length and spinning away, Karunaratne gets forward and pushes it with gentle hands to point. |
| 25.1 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Flighted and on off, defended off the front foot back to the bowler. |
| 25.2 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Quicker one, darts in on middle, turning away a bit, Mathews immediately shifts his weight on the back foot and defends it out. |
| Stumping appeal! That's a quick glovework by Quinton de Kock. Has Mathews' back leg left the crease momentarily? |
| 25.3 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Not out! Never left the crease. A delivery sliding down the leg side, Mathews strides forward and then tries to work it away off his pads. He misses and then de Kock takes the bails off. For a second, it appeared that Mathews lost his balance and his back leg might have come out. They appeal, it's referred upstairs but the replays find nothing much to please the tourists. |
| 25.4 : K Maharaj to Mathews, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 25.5 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Short outside off, cut straight to point. |
| 25.6 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Flatter ball on off, defended off the back foot. |
| 26.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Short and wide outside off, Karunaratne mistimes his square cut. |
| 26.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Floated and full on off, Karunaratne goes down on one knee and lap sweeps it down to fine leg for a couple. |
| 26.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Driven through mid off by the batsman. One run added to the total. |
| 26.4 : T Shamsi to A Mathews, Too full in length around off, Mathews flicks it across the line and Bavuma at short mid-wicket makes a diving stop. |
| 26.5 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Throws this one up and outside off, Mathews tries to drive through covers but it spins back in to take the inside half of the bat. He ends up mistiming back to the bowler. |
| 26.6 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Loopy and on middle, defended to short leg. |
| 27.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Appeal for an lbw! A sharp spin from outside off, Karunaratne gets across a bit as he tries to defend it off his back foot. Misses the ball to get hit on the pads. They appeal but the umpire shakes his head. Probably struck him in line but it's turning too much and could have missed the leg stump. |
| 27.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Flighted on middle, defended on the leg side. |
| 27.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, 15th Test fifty for Karunaratne. He nudges this delivery to covers and crosses for a run. Continues to bat with authority. By the look of things, it appears that he is batting on a totally different pitch. Doing his best to make his 50th Test a memorable one. A century in first innings and now a half century. Only the second Sri Lankan to do so. |
| 27.4 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Floated and full on off, Mathews is a bit squared up as he defends it from the outer half of his blade. |
| 27.5 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Mathews has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 27.6 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Flighted and outside off, left alone. |
| 28.1 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, FOUR! Brilliant shot! Shamsi bowls a flighted full ball on off, spinning away after landing, Karunaratne drives it through extra cover for a boundary. |
| 28.2 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Tossed up on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 28.3 : T Shamsi to Karunaratne, Wrong 'un, turning back into the batsman, Karunaratne picks it from the pitch and hence is late in keeping it out. Beaten in air but not off the deck. The ball in the meantime rolls in the gap at cover-point and they cross. |
| 28.4 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Goes on the back foot and punches it to short cover. |
| 28.5 : T Shamsi to Mathews, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 28.6 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Gets on the front foot and blocks to end the over. |
| 29.1 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Flighted ball landing wide outside off, a bit of inward turn, Karunaratne pads it away. |
| 29.2 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Action replay of the previous delivery. |
| 29.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, FOUR! Bang! Karunaratne shimmies down the track to a full ball and hammers it past the left side of the extra cover for a boundary. No stopping this one. He has batted particularly well against Maharaj. |
| 29.4 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Walks down the track and forces it right back. This time Maharaj makes the stop with a dive to his right. |
| 29.5 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Loopy on middle, it has been worked with the spin through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 29.6 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Arm ball on middle, landing on a fuller length. Mathews gets forward to defend but it takes the inside edge and runs to fine leg for a single. Lead - 250! |
| Kagiso Rabada returns into the attack. |
| 30.1 : K Rabada to Mathews, Good length ball on off, defended off the back foot. |
| 30.2 : K Rabada to Mathews, Mathews has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 30.3 : K Rabada to Mathews, Slightly short and outside off, angling in a bit, Mathews defends it back from the crease. |
| 30.4 : K Rabada to Mathews, Shortish and on off, defended from the crease to the off side. |
| 30.5 : K Rabada to Mathews, Mistimed! Rabada goes full this time and bowls it wide outside off, Mathews plays a loose drive on the up and it goes a bit uppishly towards mid off. |
| 30.6 : K Rabada to Mathews, On a length around middle and off, it's worked through backward square leg for a single. |
| 31.1 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Loopy full ball on middle, defended back off the front foot. |
| 31.2 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Turns it off his pads through square leg for a run. |
| 31.3 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Continues from over the wicket for the left-hander as well. A flighted full ball on off, Dimuth defends it off his front foot. |
| 31.4 : K Maharaj to D Karunaratne, Dropped! Too quick for Markram at short leg. Sharp spin back into the batsman from around off, Karunaratne tries to defend but it takes the inside edge and quickly flies towards Markram. He sticks his left hand out but it brushes it and goes to backward square leg. |
| 31.5 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Karunaratne has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 31.6 : K Maharaj to Karunaratne, Lunges and defends it towards short leg. |
| 32.1 : K Rabada to Mathews, Lands it on a good length around off, shaping back in, Mathews covers the line and defends it solidly. |
| 32.2 : K Rabada to A Mathews, Short in length and around off, Mathews stands back and pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a run. |
| 32.3 : K Rabada to D Karunaratne, OUT! So after 301 balls, South Africa have managed to see the back of Dimuth Karunaratne. Rabada steams in from 'round the wicket and dishes out a back of a length ball outside off. It straightens just a touch after pitching as Karunaratne goes on the back foot to punch it through the line. But it takes a thick outside edge and flies to wide first slip where Amla takes a fine low catch. End of a brilliant, brilliant knock by Dimuth. He has played a big role in st |
| Roshen Silva is the new batsman, no nightwatchman employed by Sri Lanka with 27 balls left in the day's play. |
| 32.4 : K Rabada to Silva, Full and outside off, driven off the front foot to mid off. |
| 32.5 : K Rabada to R Silva, FOUR! Off the pair in an edgy manner. Rabada pitches it full and around off, Silva gets forward to play at it but it takes the outside edge and screams past the gully fielder for a boundary at third man. |
| 32.6 : K Rabada to Silva, The batsman picked that bouncer early and let it through to the keeper. |
| 33.1 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Tossed up ball on middle, defended off the front foot to the leg side. |
| 33.2 : K Maharaj to Mathews, A little bit more air this time, full and on middle, it's flicked in front of square leg for a couple. |
| 33.3 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Floated and full on off, Mathews lunges and defends it with a loose bottom hand. |
| 33.4 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Very full and on middle, Mathews is solidly behind in line as he defends it to the leg side. |
| 33.5 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Beauty of a delivery! Drifting into the batsman and landing full on off. Mathews tries to play the line but it spins away to beat the outside edge. |
| 33.6 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Flatter and fuller on middle, drilled down to mid on. |
| 34.1 : K Rabada to Silva, Effort delivery. Bends his back and delivers it on a shortish length around off, Roshen drops his wrists and allows it through to the keeper. |
| 34.2 : K Rabada to Silva, Rabada spears this one full and on off, it has been kept out safely by Silva at covers. |
| 34.3 : K Rabada to R Silva, Sharp delivery, full and on middle, Roshen offers a straight bat and pushes it down to mid on. They cross for a brisk single. |
| 34.4 : K Rabada to Mathews, Drops it on a length and just outside off, Mathews remains on the back foot and pushes it with an angled bat to point. |
| 34.5 : K Rabada to Mathews, On a good length around off, shaping back into the batsman, Angelo covers the line and movement before pushing it back to the bowler. |
| 34.6 : K Rabada to Mathews, EDGY FOUR! Very loose from Mathews. Throws his bat at a length ball outside off and gets it away off the outside edge. It flies wide of the slip cordon and speeds to the third man fence. 100 up for Sri Lanka with that airy fairy shot. |
| 35.1 : K Maharaj to Silva, Flighted and full on off, defended back off the front foot. |
| 35.2 : K Maharaj to Silva, Leans forward to a full ball and defends it to the off side. |
| Dean Elgar comes in at silly point. |
| 35.3 : K Maharaj to Silva, Loopy and on off, it's defended in front of silly point. |
| 35.4 : K Maharaj to Silva, Edged! Did that carry??? No is the answer. Nervy moment for Roshen. A fantastic delivery by Keshav. Serves it full and on middle, spinning away, once again Silva tries to defend off his front foot but it spins away to take a soft outside edge. It hurries behind towards Amla at first slip who goes down low but it appears that the ball dropped in front. |
| 35.5 : K Maharaj to Silva, Floated and on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 35.6 : K Maharaj to Silva, Very full and on middle, Silva keeps it out to mid-wicket. |
| Tabraiz Shamsi to bowl the last over of the day. |
| 36.1 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Tossed up ball on off, Mathews moves back and works it in front of square leg for a single. Bavuma there slides to stop the ball and then scores a direct hit at the non-striker's end. It deflects behind with no one backing up and they take an overthrow. |
| 36.2 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Flighted and on middle, helped away to fine leg for a single. |
| 36.3 : T Shamsi to R Silva, Whoa! That missed everything! Beauty by Shamsi. Lets out a loopy full ball around off, fuller in length, Silva gets forward to work it away but it spins back in, beats the inside edge and flies over the stumps to the fence behind. Given as runs. Ohho, nicely spotted by the umpire. The replays confirm the involvement of a thin inside edge. |
| 36.4 : T Shamsi to Silva, Gets forward to defend but it takes the outer portion of the bat and rolls wide of point. A single taken. |
| 36.5 : T Shamsi to Mathews, A wrong 'un on middle, Mathews gets deep inside the crease, attempting to work it on the leg side without picking the variation. Somehow he keeps it out and then smiles. |
| 36.6 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Once again a googly by Shamsi, Mathews stays back footed in defense. That will be Stumps on day 2! |
| A good session for South Africa in terms of wickets but in the overall scenario, they are way behind the 8-ball, trailing by 272 runs to be precise. On a pitch assisting the spinners, Keshav Maharaj left his impression by picking three wickets while Kagiso Rabada bagged the prized scalp of Dimuth Karunaratne. The Sri Lankan opener once again displayed immense character in his knock and it appeared that he was batting on a completely different track. Such was his command over his innings. He was |
| The day entirely belonged to the Sri Lankan spinners. They wreaked havoc in the morning session and completely broke the South African batting. Apart from one stand between Faf du Plessis and Vernon Philander, there wasn't much resistance offered by the Protea batsmen. They appeared pretty clueless and to be honest, lacked the temperament to survive on a demanding pitch against world-class bowlers. |
| Shaun Pollock catches up with Keshav Maharaj for a little chat. The South African spinner looks pleased after finding some rhythm and says that he was just looking to bowl simple line and length. Admits that he was a bit rusty in the first innings. Also adds that it's very enjoyable to play in the subcontinent. On his team's batting performance, Maharaj states that they didn't bat according to the plan but he is still hopeful to force a collapse on the third morning and then chase down the total |
| Right then, this match is heavily loaded in favour of the home team. They can call the shots from here. Already they have a good enough lead in the pocket and would like to bat freely to build on it. South Africa will know that they have an uphill task in front but that's when they will come out to chase. First thing first, their aim will be to bundle out the hosts as soon as possible on Saturday. Promises to be yet another cracking day. Do join us at 1000 local (0430 GMT) for all the action. Me |
| ...DAY 3, FIRST SESSION... |
| Hello and welcome ladies and gentlemen for the third day of the Galle Test. A tough day awaits South Africa who are staring down the barrel. They will require a monumental effort to make a comeback in this game, whether they manage that or not only time will tell. The hosts will look to maximize the damage by taking their lead close to 350, if not more. The pitch is playing all kind of tricks and batting is only going to get tougher from here on. Expect a riveting day's play. |
| Weather - There was some overnight rain but the groundsmen did well to protect the playing area. The sun has come out this morning and the ground is ready for a prompt start. |
| Pitch report - Shaun Pollock and Kepler Wessels combine to inspect the playing area. The former started by saying that Russel Arnold yesterday mentioned that this surface has more bounce than turn which he has not seen before. Wessels adds to it by saying that it's a dry surface and from Sri Lanka's point of view it's turning straight from the line of the stumps. Also adds that there is not a lot of rough to work with and feels that it's going to spin more and more. Advice from Wessels - 'You ca |
| Rangana Herath says that his fingers are fine now and he has fully recovered. Mentions that Perera and all the spinners did a remarkable job. Feels it's not an easy pitch to bat as it's gripping and the bounce is indifferent. Is hoping to get the same result with the ball in the last innings as he believes that chasing in excess of 250 is never easy on a Galle pitch. On his plans for the future, he says that he needs to have a proper chat with the captain, coach and the management. Informs that |
| Time to get underway. The South Africa players are taking the field. Out come the overnight batsmen - Angelo Mathews and Roshen Silva. The latter will be on strike. Dale Steyn to begin proceedings. Some good breeze is blowing across the stadium and the pacers would like to make use of it. Two slips and a gully in place. Here we go... |
| 37.1 : D Steyn to Silva, Begins the day's play with a fuller length ball on off, angling in, Silva flicks it through backward square leg and takes a single. |
| 37.2 : D Steyn to Mathews, On a length and just around off, Mathews goes on the back foot and plays it down to mid-wicket. |
| 37.3 : D Steyn to Mathews, Angles in a length ball on off, Mathews once again remains back footed before keeping it out on the leg side. |
| 37.4 : D Steyn to Mathews, Digs in a short delivery this time, outside off, Mathews pulls it in front of square leg for a run. |
| 37.5 : D Steyn to Silva, Good length ball on off, Silva punches it off his back foot to covers. |
| 37.6 : D Steyn to Silva, Stays back footed and then pushes it towards the cover fielder. |
| Kagiso Rabada to share the attack from the other end. The field remains the same - two slips and a gully. |
| 38.1 : K Rabada to Mathews, Full and around off, defended off the front foot to the on side. |
| 38.2 : K Rabada to Mathews, Some movement off the seam this time. From a length around off. Mathews works it off the inner portion of the bat to fine leg for one. |
| 38.3 : K Rabada to Silva, Fullish and around off, angling in, Silva gets on the front foot and defends it with soft hands. |
| Some issue with the ball which is quickly addressed by the umpire. Seems some part of the leather has come off and Vernon Philander brings that to the notice. One of the two umpires cut it with the help of a scissor. |
| 38.4 : K Rabada to Silva, With gentle hands Silva pushes this one in the cover region and then steals a quick single. |
| 38.5 : K Rabada to Mathews, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 38.6 : K Rabada to Mathews, Bumper, nicely-targeted, Angelo lets it through over his head by crouching a bit. |
| 39.1 : D Steyn to Silva, Play and a miss! Excellent delivery, lands it on a good length outside off and gets it to straighten a bit, Silva pokes at it tentatively and gets beaten. |
| 39.2 : D Steyn to Silva, Steyn tries to repeat the last delivery but from the middle stump line. It turns out to be too straight in line and Roshen works it through square leg for a single. |
| 39.3 : D Steyn to Mathews, Once again the line is very straight. Mathews helps this good length delivery through square leg to collect another single in this over. |
| 39.4 : D Steyn to Silva, On a driving length outside off, holding its line, Silva takes a stride forward before shouldering arms. |
| 39.5 : D Steyn to Silva, A length ball on off, 140.4 kph, Silva defends it from the crease to mid-wicket. |
| 39.6 : D Steyn to Silva, This one is bowled in the high-130s. On a length around off, it's been blocked from the back foot by Roshen. |
| Appeal for a run out at the non-striker's end. Kagiso Rabada is all smiles and the South Africans are celebrating. The umpire has referred it upstairs... |
| 40.1 : Rabada to Mathews, OUT! Gone! A very unfortunate way to get dismissed. Rabada serves a full length ball outside off, Mathews mistimes his drive back towards the bowler off the inner half of his bat. Kagiso gets down low to stop the ball but it brushes his fingers and goes on to hit the stumps at the other end. Silva was backing up way too much and quickly turns to park his bat inside the crease. As soon as it hits the timber, the Proteas go up in a big appeal. The third umpire is referred |
| 0.0 : Niroshan Dickwella is in next with Sri Lanka leading by 278 runs. |
| 40.2 : K Rabada to Mathews, Shortish and outside off, Mathews punches it from the back foot, a bit uppish but through backward point for a couple of runs. |
| 40.3 : K Rabada to Mathews, Stays on the back foot and taps it down on the off side. |
| 40.4 : K Rabada to Mathews, Works it in the gap at mid-wicket and picks up a single. |
| 40.5 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back oot. |
| 40.6 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Presses forward to a length ball and pushes it to covers. |
| 41.1 : D Steyn to Mathews, In the channel outside off, left alone. |
| 41.2 : D Steyn to Mathews, A length ball on off, defended off the back foot. |
| 41.3 : D Steyn to Mathews, The batsman works it down the leg side. One run added to the total. |
| A short mid-wicket in. |
| 41.4 : D Steyn to Dickwella, They needed a short leg there. Steyn delivers an effort ball. Bends his back to extract some extra bounce from the middle stump line. Dickwella is caught in an awkward position as he tries to fend at it. It comes off from the shoulder of his bat and lobs in the air. Steyn runs forward but it dies down immediately in front of him. Doubt even short leg would have done anything about it. |
| 41.5 : D Steyn to Dickwella, In the line of the stumps, defended off the back foot. |
| 41.6 : D Steyn to Dickwella, A shot attempted out of sheer frustration. Steyn serves this one up and wide outside off. Niroshan throws his bat at it but fails to connect. |
| 42.1 : K Rabada to Mathews, A length ball outside off, staying a bit low, Mathews hangs back and and pushes it towards covers for a quick single. |
| 0.0 : A short leg comes in now for Dickwella. A long leg in place too. Expect some short stuff as Rabada is running in from 'round the wicket. |
| 42.2 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Back of a length delivery angling into the batsman, Dickwella defends it off his back foot. |
| 42.3 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Sharp delivery, shortish and outside off, Dickwella tries to force it through covers but it takes the inside edge and goes to mid-wicket. |
| 42.4 : K Rabada to N Dickwella, FOUR! Poor delivery and punished. Rabada continues to drop it short but this time the line is taking it down the leg side. Dickwella just helps it around with the pull shot and finds the fence at fine leg. The fielder in the deep was a bit square and had no chance of cutting it off. |
| 42.5 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Punches a length ball to covers where Maharaj quickly reacts to his right and stops the ball. |
| 42.6 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Nearly a yorker, if not a yorker exactly. It's outside off, Dickwella tries to dig it out but is beaten for pace. |
| 43.1 : D Steyn to Mathews, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 43.2 : D Steyn to Mathews, Mathews has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 43.3 : D Steyn to Mathews, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 43.4 : D Steyn to A Mathews, Angles in a length ball around off, staying low, Mathews keeps his eyes on the ball and then tries to defend. But it catches the toe end of the bat and rolls past the diving gully fielder who gets some hand on it. A single taken. |
| 43.5 : D Steyn to N Dickwella, On a length around off, Dickwella punches it off his back foot to covers. |
| 43.6 : D Steyn to Dickwella, Runs in from 'round the wicket and lands it on a shortish length outside off. Dickwella punches it with ease through covers. Shamsi chases it down in the deep as the ball slows down and the batsmen collect three runs. |
| 44.1 : K Rabada to Dickwella, Fine shot! A fuller length ball outside off, Niroshan drives it square of the wicket on the off side. The point fielder chases it and they take a couple of runs. |
| 44.2 : K Rabada to Dickwella, OUT! The 'round the wicket angle has worked for Rabada. He angles in a length ball from outside off, no movement from the pitch this time as it follows the direction of the bowler's arm. Dickwella with an unsure footwork plays at it and nicks it behind to de Kock. He makes no mistake and South Africa taste second success this morning. |
| Dilruwan Perera is the new batsman. |
| 44.3 : K Rabada to Perera, This one is angled in on middle, Perera clips it through backward square leg and takes a couple of runs. |
| 44.4 : K Rabada to Perera, OUT! Rabada strikes again. Perera had a bat in his hands but forgot to use it. Kagiso gets some appreciable movement going on this delivery. It lands on a length outside off and nips back in. Perera misreads it and offers no shot after taking his front leg a little forward. It raps him on the back leg, the bend knee, they appeal and the finger goes up. Impact cannot be an issue and the umpire is sure that it has come back in enough to hit the stumps. Dilruwan did have a |
| Skipper Suranga Lakmal is in next. |
| 44.5 : K Rabada to Lakmal, Sliding down the leg side, Lakmal gets into a tangle as he decides to leave it. Takes a blow on his thigh pad. |
| 44.6 : K Rabada to Lakmal, Bouncer! The batsman ducks in time to let that one go over him. |
| 45.1 : D Steyn to A Mathews, Short and wide outside off, cut through point for a couple of runs. |
| 45.2 : D Steyn to Mathews, Taps it down to covers and collects a single. |
| 45.3 : D Steyn to Lakmal, Shortish and pulled wide of mid-wicket for a couple of runs. Lead crosses 300! |
| 45.4 : D Steyn to Lakmal, On a length and outside off, Lakmal flashes and misses. |
| 45.5 : D Steyn to Lakmal, Huge cry for an lbw! The umpire turns it down. Steyn spears in a full ball on middle and leg, angling further down, Lakmal is beaten for pace as he tries to flick. Missing leg. |
| 45.6 : D Steyn to Lakmal, Full and around off, this one is bowled in the 140s, Lakmal is all over the place with his footwork as he defends it somehow on the leg side. |
| 46.1 : K Rabada to Mathews, On a length around off, defended off the back foot. |
| 46.2 : K Rabada to Mathews, Mathews has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 46.3 : K Rabada to A Mathews, Good length delivery outside off, holding its line, Mathews pushes at it and edges it behind. Du Plessis at second slip dives to his right and makes a good stop as it comes to him on the bounce. |
| 46.4 : K Rabada to Mathews, Driven through mid on by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| A short cover in place, right in the face of Lakmal. |
| 46.5 : K Rabada to Lakmal, Aerial and the short cover fielder nearly came into the picture. Rabada bangs in a short ball on middle, Lakmal tries to fend at it but the bat turns in his hands and he gets it away off the leading edge. It pops out but lands wide of the close-in fielder. |
| 46.6 : K Rabada to Lakmal, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 47.1 : D Steyn to Lakmal, Width on offer outside off, Lakmal drives but finds the cover fielder. |
| 47.2 : D Steyn to Lakmal, Short and on middle, pulled to long leg for one. |
| 47.3 : D Steyn to Mathews, Good length ball on middle, defended on the leg side. |
| 47.4 : D Steyn to Mathews, A length ball outside off, punched to covers for a single. |
| 47.5 : D Steyn to Lakmal, The batsman was beaten and missed the line of the delivery. |
| 47.6 : D Steyn to Lakmal, This one cuts back into the batsman from a length outside off, Lakmal fails to defend and gets hit high on the pads. A stifled appeal immediately dies down. |
| Drinks break. South Africa have done well to pick three wickets but the worrying factor for them is that the lead has already crossed the 300-run mark. They would like to polish the tail quickly unlike the first innings which in a way has hurt them big time in this Test match. Just imagine, the Lankan lead would have been close to just 50, had the last two wickets not added 111 runs. Expect spinners to operate in the next hour. |
| Tabraiz Shamsi into the attack. |
| 48.1 : T Shamsi to Mathews, A low full toss on off, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 48.2 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Flighted full ball on off, flicked on the leg side but short leg did well to stick his left hand out in order to stop the ball. |
| 48.3 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Floated ball, landing outside off and turning back in, Mathews gets deep inside the crease and defends it out safely in spite of the ball staying low. |
| 48.4 : T Shamsi to Mathews, Very full and outside off, a mistimed off drive down to long off for a single. |
| 48.5 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Flighted and too full outside off, Lakmal tries to hit it but misses. It gets deflected off de Kock's gloves to short leg. |
| 48.6 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Big turn and bounce into the batsman from around off, Lakmal gets back to work it around but misses and is hit high on the pads. Only a muted appeal follows. The ball in the meanwhile rolls to point and they cross for a leg bye. |
| Spin from both ends now. Keshav Maharaj to roll his arm. |
| 49.1 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Flighted full ball on off, Lakmal defends it back to the bowler. |
| 49.2 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Loopy on off, Lakmal this time goes the aerial route. Not quite from the middle of the bat but it loops over the bowler's head and they take a couple of runs. |
| 49.3 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Too full and on leg, it's flicked wide of mid on and they cross for a quick single. Amla scores a direct hit at the bowler's end but no harm done. It ricochets, they think of the second but Bavuma is quickly to the ball and they stop in their tracks. |
| 49.4 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Fullish and on off, pushed back towards the bowler. |
| 49.5 : K Maharaj to Mathews, SIX! Fine, fine shot! Opens up the stumps by moving to the leg side and then lofts it with the spin over covers. Lovely connection and it has gone all the way for a maximum. Top shot, Angelo. |
| 49.6 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Turning away from the batsman, Mathews tries to defend but it takes the outer half of the bat and rolls to short third man. |
| 50.1 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Very full on off, pushed back towards mid off. |
| 50.2 : T Shamsi to S Lakmal, Loopy and on middle, spinning in, Lakmal clears his front leg and goes hard at it. The ball takes the inner half of his bat and rolls to mid on. |
| 50.3 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Lakmal has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 50.4 : T Shamsi to S Lakmal, Flights this one and bowls it around off, Lakmal throws his bat at it and smashes it to deep cover. They take only a couple. Poor running from Mathews. He thought it's going to the boundary but the ball slowed down. Also, he was running with the gloves in the hands. Poor. |
| 50.5 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 50.6 : T Shamsi to S Lakmal, Tossed up ball wide outside off, Lakmal drives it through the line but finds the extra cover fielder. |
| 51.1 : K Maharaj to Mathews, Fullish around leg, Mathews presents a straight bat in defense. |
| 51.2 : K Maharaj to A Mathews, Flighted and full outside off, Mathews drives it back to the bowler. From the inside half of the willow. |
| 51.3 : Maharaj to A Mathews, OUT! Bowled 'em! Maharaj gets a four-fer! He tosses this one up in the air and lands it full around middle. It straightens a bit after hitting the deck as Mathews sits down on one knee to play the slog sweep. Misses the ball completely and it goes on to disturb the wooden framework. The last recognized batsman departs with Sri Lanka leading by 317 runs. |
| Rangana Herath is the number 10 batsman. |
| 51.4 : K Maharaj to Herath, Loopy and full on off, Herath is forward in defense. |
| 51.5 : K Maharaj to Herath, Tossed up ball outside off, Herath tries to be innovative. Attempts a reverse sweep but misses. The keeper also misses the ball and they take a couple of leg byes. |
| 51.6 : K Maharaj to Herath, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 52.1 : Shamsi to Lakmal, Shout for an lbw! Not given. Floated full ball around leg, spinning down, Lakmal tries to defend but misses and is hit on the pads. Missing leg. |
| 52.2 : T Shamsi to S Lakmal, FOUR! Very full and on off, spinning back in, Lakmal drills it straight back down the ground for a cracking boundary. Vital runs, taking Sri Lanka's lead towards 350. |
| Shout for an lbw! It's not given by the umpire and Tabraiz Shamsi convinces his skipper to take the referral. Inside edge? |
| 52.3 : Shamsi to Lakmal, Not out! No inside edge but it's turning back in too much and will miss the stumps. Floated ball on off, landing full and spinning back in. Lakmal tries to defend off his front foot but misses and hits him on the pads. They put in an unsuccessful appeal and South Africa take the DRS. Nothing doing in the replays and Lakmal survives. |
| 52.4 : T Shamsi to Herath, Another appeal for an lbw but this one short lived as Shamsi immediately pulls out. Turning back into the batsman from outside off, some extra bounce too, Herath fails to defend and is hit high on the pads. Impact also looked outside off. |
| Review time again. This time from the batsman. Rangana Herath it is. Looks dead in front to us. |
| 52.5 : Shamsi to Herath, OUT! Gone! Shamsi finally gets lucky with his appealing. Traps Herath in front. A flighted full ball landing around leg and spinning towards off, Herath goes down on one knee to sweep but misses and is rapped on the back leg. They appeal and the finger goes up this time. Rangana opts for the referral but it turns out to be of no help. The replays confirmed the pitching of the ball to be within the line and it has hit Herath in line as well. The ball is heading for the stu |
| Lakshan Sandakan is the last batsman. The umpire had called it over but proactiveness from the third umpire saves everyone from the embarrassment. One more to go, sorry guys says umpire Tucker as he returns to his mark. |
| 52.6 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Driven through mid off by the batsman. |
| 53.1 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Gets on the front foot and defends. |
| 53.2 : K Maharaj to S Lakmal, Goes back and cuts but finds the point fielder. |
| 53.3 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, FOUR! Flighted and full on middle, turning in, Lakmal clears his front leg and smashes it over mid on for a boundary. |
| 53.4 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Lakmal has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 53.5 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Suranga has punched that ball through the offside. They pick up a single. |
| 53.6 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Tossed up ball on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 54.1 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Turning down the leg side, Lakmal tries to flick but misses. |
| 54.2 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, FOUR! Good shot! The skipper continues to add handy runs. Shamsi throws it up wide outside off, Lakmal latches onto it and smacks it past his partner at the other end. The mid off is up and a boundary results. |
| 54.3 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Full and on middle, spinning back in, Lakmal tries to swing it over the mid-wicket region but misses. He is hit on the pads but it's missing leg. |
| 54.4 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Tries to drive this one but gets an inside edge onto the pads. It loops in the air and drops on the off side. Then it turns towards the leg side. Plenty of revolution on the ball. |
| 54.5 : T Shamsi to S Lakmal, Driven through mid off by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 54.6 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Slips one down the leg side, Sandakan fails to get it away off his pads. |
| 55.1 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Shortish and on off, punched wide of mid off for a run. |
| 55.2 : K Maharaj to Sandakan, Too full and on middle, worked wide of mid on for a single. |
| 55.3 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Loopy and on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 55.4 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, FOUR! Flatter and shorter outside off, Lakmal goes deep inside the crease and plays a cracking square cut. Beats the point fielder for a boundary. |
| 55.5 : K Maharaj to Lakmal, Flighted full on off, defended off the front foot by Lakmal. |
| 55.6 : K Maharaj to S Lakmal, A low full toss on off, it's been driven down to long off for a single. Retains strike. |
| 56.1 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, FOUR! Lakmal is showing that there is nothing wrong with the pitch. Takes a long stride forward to a full ball outside off and drives it delightfully through extra cover for a boundary. |
| 56.2 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Full and flighted outside off, driven to mid off. |
| 56.3 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Lands this one around leg, turning down, Lakmal tries to flick but misses. |
| 56.4 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Too full and on off, Lakmal digs it out safely. |
| 56.5 : T Shamsi to Lakmal, Spinning down the leg side, Lakmal fails to flick and it goes off his pads towards short fine leg. He looks at his partner who is ready to change strike. They take a leg bye. |
| 56.6 : T Shamsi to Sandakan, Tossed up ball on middle, turning in, Sandakan being a chinaman bowler himself, reads it quite well and works it in front of square leg for a single. The partnership is worth 23 runs and it has come in a quick time also. The lead is 3 short of 350! |
| Dale Steyn returns into the attack. |
| 57.1 : D Steyn to Sandakan, A good length ball outside off, punched off the back foot to point. |
| 57.2 : D Steyn to Sandakan, A wayward bouncer, wide outside off, Sandakan allows it through to the keeper. |
| 57.3 : D Steyn to Sandakan, FOUR! The lead goes past 350! Back of a length delivery outside off, Sandakan gets back to punch it through the line. Doesn't quite middle it as it travels off the outer half of the bat but right through the gap between gully and point for a boundary. |
| 57.4 : D Steyn to Sandakan, OUT! A soft dismissal. Steyn bangs it in short outside off, Sandakan is on his toes as he flays at it. Middles his shot properly but it doesn't have enough elevation to go over the point fielder. Bavuma there makes no mistake and Sri Lanka are all out for 190, setting a daunting target of 352 for the Proteas. Also, this is Steyn's 421st wicket and he equals Shaun Pollock as the all-time highest wicket-taker for South Africa in Tests. |
| Right then, Sri Lanka added 79 runs to their overnight total and have taken their lead past the 350-run mark. South Africa bowled well this morning to pick six wickets but their real challenge begins now. The pitch is offering assistance for the spinners but they can take solace from Lakmal's batting. In spite of not being a very technically sound batsmen, he showed with his stroke play that there ain't any demons in the pitch and if applied well, it's possible to survive. |
| Talking about this innings, Sri Lanka after gaining a big first innings' lead started positively. Dimuth Karunaratne once again batted superbly to notch up a score beyond fifty. The middle order though disappointed again, the lower order offered not only resistance but important runs to push the target towards 350. South Africa's bowling was neither too bad in the first innings nor in the second. Kagiso Rabada managed to pick three while Keshav Maharaj also found his rhythm to bag a 4-fer. Over |
| 0.1 : R Herath to Markram, Arm ball to begin with, on middle and skidding down, Markram tries to flick but misses. They appeal unsuccessfully. Too high. |
| Huge appeal for an lbw! Looks too high and that's why not given. Hang on, Sri Lanka want to review it. |
| 0.2 : Herath to Markram, NOT OUT! Impact is outside off and it's missing the stumps as well. Very poor review by Sri Lanka. A flighted ball around off, not turning much, Markram gets across a bit and then tries to defend but misses. He is hit on the pads, they appeal but nothing from the umpire. DRS s taken but the replays only told how poor that referral was. |
| 0.3 : R Herath to Markram, Flatter and on middle, Markram gets forward but is squared up as he defends it off the inside half of the bat. |
| 0.4 : R Herath to Markram, Flatter again, skidding in from middle, Markram clearly is not picking Herath. Tries to defend but gets an inside edge again. |
| 0.5 : R Herath to Markram, Walks forward and across before offering a straight bat in defense. |
| 0.6 : R Herath to Markram, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| Dilruwan Perera to bowl from the other end. |
| 1.1 : D Perera to Elgar, Flighted on off, Elgar has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 1.2 : D Perera to Elgar, On the pads, helped in front of square leg for a run. |
| 1.3 : D Perera to Markram, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 1.4 : D Perera to Markram, Turning down, tapped in front of leg slip. |
| 1.5 : D Perera to Markram, Off the mark! Gets on the front foot and drives it through covers for a couple of runs. |
| 1.6 : D Perera to Markram, Landing wide outside leg, Markram pads it away. |
| 2.1 : R Herath to Elgar, Beaten! Tossed up ball outside off, not spinning in, Elgar tries to drive but misses. |
| 2.2 : R Herath to Elgar, Slow and loopy on off, Elgar presses forward and defends. |
| 2.3 : R Herath to Elgar, Very risky. Tries to sweep it on the leg side but it takes a top edge and flies over leg slip. A couple taken. |
| 2.4 : R Herath to Elgar, Flatter and fuller on leg, Elgar keeps it out from the inner half of the bat to leg gully. |
| 2.5 : R Herath to Elgar, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 2.6 : R Herath to Elgar, Tossed up ball wide outside off, left alone. That will be Lunch on day 3! |
| Safely negotiated. But the way both the openers batted against the spinners, signs are ominous. They need to be very careful after the break as Sri Lanka will bombard them with plenty of spin. At this point of time, South Africa need 347 more for a win with 10 wickets intact. Join us in a short while for all the action. |
| ...DAY 3, SECOND SESSION... |
| Welcome back for the afternoon session. The South African trial by spin is about to begin. Dilruwan Perera to begin proceedings with a slip, leg slip and short leg in place. |
| 3.1 : D Perera to A Markram, Flighted full ball on off, turning in, Markram gets forward to defend but it takes the inside half of the bat and rolls towards square leg. |
| 3.2 : D Perera to Markram, Gets back inside the crease and defends it with the spin to short leg. |
| 3.3 : D Perera to Markram, Loopy on off, once again Aiden defends it with the turn to the leg side. The short leg fielder dives to his right to stop the ball. |
| 3.4 : D Perera to Markram, Spin and bounce from around middle and leg, Markram fails to defend and it goes off his pads to leg gully. A moment of excitement for the Sri Lankan players. |
| 3.5 : D Perera to Markram, Quicker this time, on middle, defended from the crease. |
| 3.6 : D Perera to Markram, It's tossed up and very full outside off, Markram drives it through covers and picks up a couple of runs. |
| 4.1 : R Herath to Elgar, Flighted and full on off, Elgar presses forward and pushes it with soft hands to covers for a run. |
| 4.2 : R Herath to Markram, Beauty! Drifting into the batsman around off, spinning away after landing, Markram tries to defend off the front foot but misses. |
| 4.3 : R Herath to Markram, Presses forward to a full ball on middle and off and this time blocks it from the middle of the bat. |
| 4.4 : R Herath to Markram, Steps down the track a bit and defends it off the outer half of the bat to covers. |
| 4.5 : R Herath to Markram, Fullish and on middle, skidding in, Markram gets forward to defend but it takes the inner half of the bat and travels to fine leg. Roshen Silva gives it the chase, slides and picks it up to throw. But while doing so, it comes out of his grasp and goes behind. Three taken due to that error. |
| 4.6 : R Herath to Elgar, Full and on middle, blocked to mid on to end the over. |
| 5.1 : D Perera to Markram, Tossed up ball outside off, Markram defends it off his back foot. |
| 5.2 : D Perera to Markram, Lunges to a full ball, allows it to spin back in and then defends. |
| 5.3 : D Perera to Markram, Gets a bit opened up in his stance as Markram is squared up in his defense. |
| 5.4 : D Perera to Markram, Steps down the track and pushes it off his pads to mid-wicket. The fielder there dives to his left and parries it towards mid on. A single taken. |
| 5.5 : D Perera to Elgar, Floated ball on off, Elgar gets forward, in an ugly manner, to defend it back to the bowler. |
| 5.6 : D Perera to Elgar, OUT! Elgar has a brain explosion and is gone stumped. Very poor from him. He is the one known to bide time in the middle and fight it out. Unexpected, really. Perera tempts him with extra flight. Serves it up and around off, seeing that Dean jumps out of the crease and probably attempts to heave it over the leg side. But he doesn't account for the away spin there. It curls past his bat as he dances down the track and swings his bat and Dickwella behind does the rest. Firs |
| Hashim Amla is the number 3 batsman. |
| 6.1 : R Herath to Markram, Markram has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 6.2 : R Herath to Markram, Flighted and full on middle, Markram is on the front foot in defense. |
| 6.3 : R Herath to Markram, Tossed up and outside off, Aiden gets across the stumps to cover the line and then leaves it alone. |
| 6.4 : R Herath to Markram, A touch short and outside off, Markram reads the length early, gets back and punches it towards the point fielder. |
| 6.5 : R Herath to Markram, Leans on the front foot to a full ball and defends it on the off side. |
| 6.6 : R Herath to Markram, This one skids back in from around the middle stump line, Markram helps it behind square leg and crosses to retain strike. |
| 7.1 : D Perera to Markram, Too short in length and outside off, Aiden goes on the back foot and cracks it past mid off. Lakmal chases it down and they take three runs. |
| 7.2 : D Perera to Amla, Floated one landing full on off, Amla reads it from the pitch and then defends it on the leg side. |
| 7.3 : D Perera to Amla, OUT! Identical to the way he got out in the first innings. Only difference, this time he walked without waiting for the decision. Fantastic catch as well. Dhananjaya de Silva it is. Perera dishes out a traditional off spinner. He lands it around off, Amla gets forward to defend with his bat in front of his pad. But it turns back in with extra bounce to kiss the inside edge, brushes the pads and loops over short leg. De Silva reacts quickly to his left from leg gully and di |
| Temba Bavuma is the number 4 batsman. |
| 7.4 : D Perera to Bavuma, Flighted and on middle, worked with the spin to mid-wicket. |
| 7.5 : D Perera to Bavuma, Bavuma has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 7.6 : D Perera to Bavuma, Flighted and outside off, going straight on, Bavuma plays for the spin which ain't there and hence gets beaten. |
| 8.1 : R Herath to Markram, Tossed up ball on middle, clipped through mid-wicket for a couple of runs. |
| 8.2 : R Herath to Markram, Steps down the track a bit and then offers a straight bat in defense. |
| 8.3 : R Herath to Markram, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 8.4 : R Herath to Markram, Lunges to a full ball and defends it to the off side with the spin. |
| 8.5 : R Herath to Markram, Slows this one in the air and lands it full on off. Aiden defends it well off the front foot. |
| 8.6 : R Herath to Markram, A risky shot. Floated full ball on off, Markram skips down the track and goes for a big shot. Looks more like a mishit as it flies off the toe end of the bat. The mid off fielder rushes across to his left to field the ball as it lands safely in the deep at covers. They take a couple. He played that into the wind which isn't a good idea. Needs to be careful with little things. |
| 9.1 : D Perera to Bavuma, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 9.2 : D Perera to Bavuma, Looks to defend it but gets an inside edge onto the pads. |
| 9.3 : D Perera to Bavuma, Uppish but just wide of the short leg fielder. Bavuma hurries down the track and then tries to block. But it spins back in to take the inside edge. Flies wide of the outstretched left hand of the short leg fielder and they cross for a single. |
| 9.4 : D Perera to A Markram, Comes down the track and knocks it down to long on for one. |
| 9.5 : Perera to Bavuma, Tossed up ball on middle and spinning down, Bavuma gets down and across to sweep but fails to connect. It goes off his arms to the leg gully fielder who catches the ball and appeals. Nothing from the umpire and since Sri Lanka have already wasted a review, they didn't risk another. The replays show that it took the wrist band on its way. Hmm... |
| 9.6 : D Perera to Bavuma, Gets forward and eases it through covers for a single. |
| 10.1 : R Herath to Bavuma, Bavuma has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 10.2 : R Herath to Bavuma, Flighted on off, defended off the front foot. |
| 10.3 : R Herath to Bavuma, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 10.4 : R Herath to Bavuma, Full flighted on off, Bavuma lunges and blocks. |
| 10.5 : R Herath to Bavuma, Arm ball on off, skidding back in, Temba is forward in defense but it takes the inside edge and hits him on the pads. |
| 10.6 : R Herath to Bavuma, Bavuma has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 11.1 : D Perera to Markram, Goes on the back foot to a shortish ball and punches it wide of Herath at point. He moves across to his left to collect the ball and they cross. |
| 11.2 : D Perera to Bavuma, Flighted and on middle, forced down towards mid on. |
| 11.3 : D Perera to Bavuma, Bavuma has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 11.4 : D Perera to Bavuma, OUT! Perera is bowling fire! Bavuma becomes his third victim. It's just about landing your delivery in the right area. The pitch and the lack of technique of the Protea batsmen will do it for you. A nicely tossed up ball on off, Bavuma should have been forward to this but chooses to stay back as he tries to defend by approaching the ball. First mistake was that he wasn't forward and the second fault was that he was going at the ball rather than allowing it to come at hi |
| In walks Faf du Plessis with his team in all sorts of trouble. Forget the target, it's about survival at the moment for them. |
| 11.5 : D Perera to Plessis, Flighted outside off, left alone. |
| 11.6 : D Perera to du Plessis, This one goes straight on, du Plessis plays for the spin as he brings down a straight bat. It takes the outside edge and seems that it falls just short of Mathews at first slip. The ball goes behind and they cross. |
| 12.1 : R Herath to Plessis, OUT! Herath joins the party as well. South Africa in tatters. Their skipper departs now without troubling the scorers much. This is very disappointing. Offering no fight whatsoever. From fight to flight. And it's plenty on this delivery. Herath gives it a good toss and lands it full around off. It spins away after kissing the pitch as du Plessis pushes at it tentatively. More with an angled bat than a straighter one. It catches the outside edge and flies straight into |
| 0.0 : Quinton de Kock is the new batsman. |
| 12.2 : R Herath to Kock, Flatter on off, defended off the back foot. |
| 12.3 : R Herath to Kock, Walks forward a bit and tries to work it around the leg side. Closes the face of the bat early and it goes off the leading edge to third man. A couple taken. |
| 12.4 : R Herath to Kock, FOUR! Attack is the best form of defense, they say. Quinton will follow that phrase. He sits down on one knee and slogs it with the spin over backward square leg for a boundary, first of this innings. |
| 12.5 : R Herath to Kock, Plays it with the spin to mid-wicket. |
| 12.6 : R Herath to Kock, Quinton has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 13.1 : D Perera to Markram, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 13.2 : D Perera to Markram, Arm ball on off, defended off the back foot. |
| 13.3 : D Perera to Markram, Defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 13.4 : D Perera to Markram, Flighted on off, turning in, Markram gets back and blocks it with the spin to the leg side. |
| 13.5 : D Perera to Markram, Loopy and full on off, Aiden is well forward as he defends it towards covers. In the gap it goes and they cross. |
| 13.6 : D Perera to Kock, Leans forward and pushes it with the inside half of the bat to mid on. |
| 14.1 : R Herath to Markram, Arm ball on middle, skidding through, Markram gets back to work it on the leg side but gets an inside edge onto the pads. |
| 14.2 : R Herath to Markram, OUT! Stumped! What are you upto, South Africa? You have made this wicket look like a demon but in reality, there ain't any. More than technique, their temperament is at fault. Markram this time loses his patience. Jumps out of the crease after seeing the flight and then tries to swing it over the leg side. It spins away slightly to beat his blade and Dickwella does the rest. Wasn't to the pitch of the ball at all and the ball spinning away made matters worse for Aiden. |
| Vernon Philander in next. |
| 14.3 : R Herath to Philander, Flatter ball on off, Philander stays back and defends it with soft hands to the off side. |
| 14.4 : R Herath to Philander, Arm ball, full and on off, skidding in, Vernon prods forward to defend but it takes the inside edge and shoots past short leg to backward square leg. |
| 14.5 : R Herath to Philander, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 14.6 : R Herath to Philander, Skidding down the leg side, Philander fails to work it away and is hit on the thigh pad. |
| 15.1 : D Perera to Kock, DROPPED AND FOUR! De Kock plays a full-blooded sweep shot. It leaves his bat like a rocket as short leg ducks to save his life. Herath at backward square leg throws his body defying gravity. Stretches his right hand out but only manages some fingertips over it. It rushes behind and crosses the fence. |
| 15.2 : D Perera to Kock, Full and outside off, driven off the front foot to covers. |
| Quinton de Kock is given out lbw. Is impact an issue here? De Kock feels so and goes for the review. Let's see... |
| 15.3 : D Perera to Kock, OUT! That has hit him in line and going on to crash the stumps. Perera has his fourth now. He flights this one around off and gets it to skid back into the batsman. De Kock tries sweeping but fails to make any connection. He is rapped on the pads, the finger goes up as soon as the appeal is made. The African keeper though opts for the review but the technology doesn't help him. End seems nigh for the tourists. Will they even survive this session? |
| Keshav Maharaj is in next. |
| Another lbw shout. This time the finger stays down but Perera is quite sure. Advises his skipper to take the DRS and Lakmal obliges. Height? |
| 15.4 : D Perera to Maharaj, Not out! Just clipping the leg stump. Spinning back into the batsman and catching Maharaj on the pads as he fails to defend from the crease. The appeal is not entertained and Perera convinces Lakmal for the DRS. The replays show that the impact is in line but it's clipping the top of the stumps. Umpire's call. Review retained. |
| 15.5 : D Perera to Maharaj, Appeal made for another lbw. This time Maharaj has failed to connect with his sweep shot. Impact looks to be the issue and hence the umpire shakes his head. |
| 15.6 : D Perera to Maharaj, Spinning down, Maharaj fails to sweep and it goes past the keeper for a couple of byes. |
| 16.1 : R Herath to Philander, Shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 16.2 : R Herath to Philander, Arm ball on off, sliding in, defended off the back foot. |
| 16.3 : R Herath to Philander, Philander has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 16.4 : R Herath to Philander, A mishit and it's DROPPED! Philander is not to the pitch of the delivery as he swings his bat across the line. Mistimes it in the air towards extra cover, Karunaratne rushes across to his left from mid off, gets to the ball as well but spill the catch. A couple taken. |
| 16.5 : R Herath to Philander, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They manage to come back for the second. |
| 16.6 : R Herath to Philander, Turning away from the batsman, Vernon tries to defend but it beats the outside edge. |
| 17.1 : D Perera to Maharaj, FOUR! Flatter and fuller outside off, Maharaj attacks it and hammers it down the ground to long off for a boundary. |
| 17.2 : D Perera to Maharaj, Goes hard at it again, good thing is that he has done it with the spin. A long on is in place and hence only a single. |
| 17.3 : D Perera to Philander, Rocks back and punches it down to long on for one. |
| 17.4 : D Perera to Maharaj, Quicker and fuller on off, Maharaj tries to sweep but misses. Is hit low on the pads, they appeal but the impact is outside the line. |
| 17.5 : D Perera to Maharaj, FOUR! Boom! Gets it to spin back into the batsman and Maharaj kneels to nail his sweep shot. The short leg fielder once again takes cover immediately to save his face as it screams away to the square leg boundary. |
| 17.6 : D Perera to K Maharaj, Short and outside off, cut straight to point. |
| Drinks. Crazy hour after the lunch break. 6 wickets have fallen. The spinners have ruled the roost, as expected. South Africa have surrendered meekly. Hard to see this Test match going into the next session, forget next day. Let's see what happens next. |
| Vernon Philander offers no shot and wears it on his pads. They appeal and the finger has gone up. Philander is clueless and then signals for the DRS. Impact is out of question here but has the ball skidded in enough to trouble the stumps. Let's have a look... |
| 18.1 : Herath to Philander, SAFE! No is the answer. Herath bowls a flighted full ball outside off, Philander thinks that he has the line covered and hence offers no shot. Just presents his front pad to keep it out. They appeal, umpire Reiffel thinks for a while and then raises his finger. Philander looks unsure, has a little chat with his partner and then signals for the DRS. The replays roll in and it shows that the ball is missing the stumps. Vernon survives. |
| 18.2 : R Herath to Philander, Looks to defend but gets an inside edge onto the pads. |
| 18.3 : Herath to Philander, Slider this time, landing on middle and skidding down, Vernon tries to work it away but misses and is hit on the pads. The appeal is turned down. |
| 18.4 : R Herath to Philander, SIX! Against the run of play. Philander dances down the track and spanks it over long off for a biggie. |
| 18.5 : R Herath to Philander, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 18.6 : R Herath to Philander, Gets forward to a full ball and blocks it watchfully. |
| 19.1 : D Perera to Maharaj, OUT! Good catch in the deep by Sandakan. The way it was going, we never thought that a batsman will get out caught in the deep. Everything was happening in the close-in positions. Anyway, Philander tries to attack Perera and hence steps down the track. He swings his bat with the spin, makes decent enough connection and it flies over mid-wicket. Sandakan near the rope settles himself and takes the catch. |
| 0.0 : Kagiso Rabada arrives in the middle. |
| 19.2 : D Perera to Rabada, Rabada has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 19.3 : D Perera to Rabada, Spinning away slightly from around off, Rabada pushes at it and misses. |
| 19.4 : D Perera to Rabada, Plays it down off his pads to short leg. |
| 19.5 : D Perera to Rabada, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 19.6 : D Perera to Rabada, Angling down the leg side, Rabada fails to defend and is hit on the pads. |
| 20.1 : R Herath to Philander, No run. |
| 20.2 : R Herath to Philander, Gets on the front foot and blocks it. |
| 20.3 : R Herath to Philander, Flatter and on off, punched to the off side towards covers. |
| Shout for a catch at bat-pad. The umpire initially turns it down but the Sri Lankans kept on appealing and now the umpires get together to check it upstairs... |
| 20.4 : Herath to Philander, Not out! It's a bump ball. Loopy full ball on off, skidding in to brush the batsman first on the pads and then hits the middle of the bat. It goes to silly point who catches it and they appeal. Nothing from the umpire initially but then the Lankans appeal again. Now, the two umpires get together and refer it upstairs. The first replay confirms that it's a bumps ball. |
| 20.5 : R Herath to Philander, The batsman gets to the pitch of the ball and defends it. |
| 20.6 : R Herath to Philander, Tossed up ball outside off, left alone. |
| 21.1 : D Perera to Rabada, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 21.2 : D Perera to Rabada, Defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 21.3 : D Perera to Rabada, Sliding down, Rabada tries to work it away but is hit on the pads. |
| 21.4 : D Perera to Rabada, Turning away, Rabada pushes at it and is beaten by the away spin. |
| 21.5 : D Perera to Rabada, OUT! Rabada leaves this one and finds his stumps disturbed. Probably, the last delivery was still playing in his mind. It turned away that time but this time Perera bowls his other variation and it skids in with the angle. Rabada offers no shot and it brushes his back pad before making contact with the stumps. |
| Dale Steyn walks in next. |
| 21.6 : D Perera to Steyn, Flighted outside off, Steyn tries to defend off the front foot but it skids away to beat the outside edge. |
| 22.1 : R Herath to Philander, Gets on the front foot and blocks. |
| 22.2 : R Herath to Philander, Presses forward and pushes it back with the spin. |
| 22.3 : R Herath to Philander, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 22.4 : R Herath to Philander, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 22.5 : R Herath to Philander, SIX! Another big shot from Philander's bat. Targets the long on fence, takes a big stride forward and hoists it over long on for a maximum. |
| 22.6 : R Herath to Philander, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 23.1 : D Perera to Steyn, Tossed up ball on off, Steyn gets it away off the inside edge towards square leg. They cross for a run and Steyn was a bit lazy. Realized late that the throw is coming at his end and then rushed across. |
| 23.2 : D Perera to Philander, Flatter one on off, defended off the back foot. |
| 23.3 : D Perera to Philander, Shortish and on off, played down to covers for one. |
| 23.4 : D Perera to Steyn, Steyn has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 23.5 : D Perera to D Steyn, Driven towards the mid off region. They pick up a single. |
| 23.6 : D Perera to Philander, Strides forward to a full ball and defends it to end the over. |
| 24.1 : R Herath to Steyn, Flighted ball on middle, Steyn defends it in front of his pads. |
| 24.2 : Herath to Steyn, OUT! Caught and bowled! Herath flights it and lands it full on middle, it spins away slightly and Steyn tries to slap it over the bowler's head. Fails to execute his intentions properly and ends up hitting it straight to the bowler. Herath makes no mistake in his followthrough and South Africa are in danger of scoring the lowest every total in Galle. Also, the replay shows that the umpire was in real danger had Herath not caught that ball. |
| 24.3 : R Herath to Shamsi, Flatter and on middle, an arm ball, Shamsi gets forward to defend but it takes the inside edge and sneaks past short leg for a run. |
| 24.4 : R Herath to V Philander, The ball takes the outside edge goes towards the slip region. They manage to come back for the second. |
| 24.5 : R Herath to Philander, Around off, solidly defended. |
| 24.6 : R Herath to Philander, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 25.1 : D Perera to Shamsi, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 25.2 : D Perera to Shamsi, Jumps across and blocks. |
| 25.3 : Perera to Shamsi, Once again Shamsi jumps across, looks to defend, it squared up and is hit on the pads. The Lankans appeal but in vain. |
| 25.4 : D Perera to Shamsi, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 25.5 : D Perera to Shamsi, Landed outside off, Tabriaz hops across and looks to defend but the ball goes straight on and beats the outside edge. |
| 25.6 : D Perera to Shamsi, The ball strikes the batsman very low on the pads. |
| 26.1 : R Herath to Philander, Outside off, punched through the off side for a single. |
| 26.2 : R Herath to Shamsi, Outside off, going away with the angle, Shamsi clumsily gets across and lets it go. |
| 26.3 : R Herath to Shamsi, Down the leg side this time, Tabraiz initially thinks about playing it - then lets it go. |
| 26.4 : R Herath to Shamsi, Ooohhh... lucky. Full on middle, TS looks to flick but gets a leading edge. It flies but lands just in front of silly point. |
| 26.5 : R Herath to Shamsi, IS THAT OUT? Not given. Shamsi walked a long way across and looked to flick but missed it. The ball flew to leg gully and the Lankans appealed - I guess for LBW. The umpire ruled it not out but replays seemed to detect a tiny piece of wood! |
| 26.6 : R Herath to Shamsi, Finally gets one away, off the inner half of the bat past leg gully for a single. |
| 27.1 : D Perera to Shamsi, Full on middle, Shamsi gets across and tucks it - almost straight to leg gully. Lands just short. |
| 27.2 : D Perera to Shamsi, Wide down the leg side, the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 27.3 : D Perera to Shamsi, Full and on middle, Tabraiz blocks it out somehow. |
| 27.4 : D Perera to Shamsi, Down the leg side, TS thinks about the flick but then lets it go at the last moment. |
| 27.5 : D Perera to Shamsi, Jumps across again, to the off side and somehow blocks it with an angled bat to point. |
| 27.6 : D Perera to Shamsi, Now, he tucks this through square leg. |
| 28.1 : L Sandakan to V Philander, Full flighted on off, defended back towards mid off. |
| 28.2 : L Sandakan to Philander, Tossed up on middle, worked past short leg for a single. |
| 28.3 : L Sandakan to Shamsi, Sliding down the leg side, Shamsi tries to flick but misses. |
| 28.4 : L Sandakan to Shamsi, Tossed up ball on off, defended off the outer half of the bat to the off side. |
| Shout for an lbw! Not given. Is the impact outside off? |
| 28.5 : L Sandakan to Shamsi, OUT! Everything is in line and South Africa's last wicket falls. Sandakan lets out a googly around middle and off. Shamsi fails to read it and is squared up in defense. It goes past his bat and hits him on the back pad. They appeal but the umpire remains still. Sri Lanka opt for the DRS and the Ball Tracker shows three reds. All over, SRI LANKA WIN BY 278 RUNS! Happy faces all around in the Lankan camp as the players leave the field after exchanging pleasantries. |
| A comprehensive win for Sri Lanka! Their spinners were expected to dominate proceedings and they didn't disappoint. From South Africa's point of view, it was a meek surrender. No fight offered. No application shown. They knew what was coming but lacked the desired temperament to put up a fight and failed the spin-test big time. A few unwanted records for them - This is their lowest Test total since readmission and also their lowest team total in Asia along with the lowest overall at this venue. |
| On a pitch supposed to assist the spinners, Faf du Plessis lost a crucial toss. Still, his bowlers produced a brave effort to restrict Sri Lanka. Although they failed to finish it off well. The last two wickets of Sri Lanka added in excess of 100 runs and that in a way handed the home team an upper hand. The Protea batting failed to deal with the spinners in both the innings and the result is there to be seen for all. |
| One has to really admire the way Dimuth Karunaratne batted in both the innings. On a not-so-easy pitch, he made 218 runs in total and really applied himself. However, his other partners weren't really up to the mark, he made sure to make his form count. South Africa will be really disappointed with two things - first letting Sri Lanka score 287 after having them on the mat at 5/161 and then conceding the exact number of runs as a lead. |
| The Proteas will like to take the positive from this Test which was the bowling of Kagiso Rabada and their main spinners. Tabraiz Shamsi was brilliant in the first innings while the second time around, Keshav Maharaj found his rhythm. They would hope that both of them perform well at tandem and give their attack another dimension. We can praise their bowling as much as we want but unless their batsmen sort out their issues, it won't help their cause much. They need to get their act together for |
| We all expected Rangana Herath to be the chief destroyer on this pitch but as it turned out, Dilruwan Perera impressed the most. He stuck to the basics and allowed the pitch do all the talking. Suranga Lakmal too should be praised for his field placements as he makes it two in two for himself as a captain. Good going from him and they are looking a far superior side heading into the next match. However, they cannot neglect their batting deficiencies. |
| Roshan Abeysinghe catches up with Dilruwan Perera for an interview. The off spinner says that every spinner loves to bowl at Galle and adds that he gets more drift and turn here. Praises Herath and says that he helps him a lot and it becomes easy for him. Further adds that South Africa have struggled against off spinners and he was prepared for it. On Herath's retirement, Perera replies that they have a lot of upcoming young spinners and he is ready to groom them. |
| Man of the Match, Dimuth Karunaratne smiles and says that after he got injured he worked hard with the 'A' team and got chance to prove himself. Admits that he had to work hard to get back in the national side and that's why he went to Bangladesh to prove his form. Adds that he always wants to bat positive and back his strength. He is aware that he was only the third Sri Lankan to get a century in his 50th Test and is really proud to be in that company. |
| South Africa skipper, Faf du Plessis admits that they only have themselves to blame. Adds that it was never going to be a high scoring game. Feels 280 was a big total. Praises Karunaratne for his batting and mentions that it felt that he batted on a different pitch. Also states that Karunaratne showed to his batter how to do it. Feels that they prepared well but the quality they get in the middle is not the same as compared to the nets. Is all praise for the quality of the Lankan spinners. Talks |
| Sri Lanka skipper, Suranga Lakmal is satisfied with his team's performance. Lauds the effort of his spinners and has a special mention for Dimuth Karunaratne. Goes on to thank the support staff and says that he is looking forward to the next Test match. |
| That's it then. Sri Lanka have completely routed the spin-shy South Africa to take a lead in the 2-match Test series. The second match is staring from 20th July in Colombo and we look forward to your company at 1000 local (0430 GMT) when the action begins. Until then, you can switch over to the England vs India second ODI where the home team has elected to bat. See you soon. Cheers! |
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