Vernon Philander and Kyle Abbott wreaked havoc on Sri Lanka to help South Africa claw their way back into the match after the hosts were folded for 286 on Day 2 of the first Test at Port Elizabeth.
The visitors were 181 for 7 at stumps, still 105 runs behind with only three wickets in hand when bad light forced an early finish on Day 2. Angelo Mathews’ men began their innings disastrously and were reeling at 37 for 3 at lunch after their top-order batsmen paid the price of playing ambitious shots against the disciplined line of Kyle Abbott and Vernon Philander.
Dimuth Karunaratne (5) inside-edged an inswinging delivery from Abbott while trying to drive away from his body. Kusal Perera (7) followed Karunaratne soon when he slashed a Philander delivery to wicket-keeper to put an end to his uncomfortable stay at the pitch. Kusal Mendis, it seemed, learnt little from the mistakes of the other batsmen and gifted his wicket while trying to drive Abbott on the up as the visitors were in a spot of bother after being reduced to 22 for 3. The ball swung away late and took Mendis’ edge before going safely into Quinton de Kock’s gloves. Kaushal Silva along with his captain Mathews saw off the remaining overs before the lunch break.
Resuming after lunch, Mathews and Silva tried their best to negate the danger possessed by the Proteas pacers and were successful for some time before the latter was trapped for LBW for 16 off Philander. The right-handed batsman played outside the line only to see the ball moving in viciously to hit him on the pads.
Kagiso Rabada then dismissed Mathews for 39 to give the hosts full command of the match. The right-arm pacer, who was bowling short in his first spell, bowled a fuller length in his next spell and was duly rewarded with the Sri Lankan skipper’s prized scalp. Mathews, who was struggling to find his footwork, paid the price for playing away from the body as the ball after taking a thick edge of the bat flew to Dean Elgar at the third slip. Rabada could have had his second wicket in the very next over when Dinesh Chandimal edged an away going delivery to the right of Quinton de Kock, only for the keeper to spill the tough chance.
At tea, the visitors were reeling at 104 for five, trailing by 182. Philander once again came to haunt Sri Lanka as he dismissed Chandimal in the fourth over after the restart to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 121 for 5. Dhananjaya de Silva and Rangana Herath then tried to steady the ship with a 36-run partnership before Herath became Keshav Maharaj’s first Test wicket in South Africa. Dhananjaya held firm from one end and remained not out on 43 along with Dushmantha Chameera (7*) before play was stopped due to poor light.
Earlier, resuming the day on 267 for 6, the hosts could add only 19 runs to their overnight score. Suranga Lakmal was the standout performer for Sri Lanka as he registered his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 286 (JP Duminy 63, Stephen Cook 59; Suranga Lakmal 5-63) lead Sri Lanka 181 for7 (Dhananjaya de Silva 43*, Angelo Mathews 39; Vernon Philander 3-35, Kyle Abbott 2-49) by 105 runs.