The Sri Lanka in-fielders appeal for a wicket © AFP
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Soon, Sri Lankans will be making jokes about how the captain, the coach and the manager should be banned more often, but they don’t have to. Dinesh Chandimal, Chandika Hathurusingha and Asanka Gurusinha will miss four of the five ODIs against South Africa, after the ICC meted out its most severe punishment earlier this week since the points system was introduced, but that is not a concern for the next five days.
The trio is also out of the second Test, but sans their engine room, Sri Lanka trounced South Africa so soundly in Galle that they can confidently say they don’t need the big three back just yet. Rather, it’s the other three Sri Lanka will rely on: the three spinners.
Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan made South Africa look like amateurs on a surface that was challenging but nowhere near a minefield, and they will look to do it again in Colombo. It’s difficult to imagine South Africa’s batting line-up doing worse, but stranger things have happened.
For a start, South Africa have to decide their approach against spin. Are they going to attack, with the mentality that they have to get runs before the ball got them – something Ottis Gibson said was a tactic on seamer-friendly pitches – or are they going to show patience, bat time and trust that runs will follow? The latter sounds more sensible, the former more desperate, and desperate is what South Africa are.
In 2014, South Africa reached the SSC 1-0 up in the series and were dogged in their determination not to lose the advantage. What followed was a blockathon that made the rain breaks more entertaining than play. Four years on, Sri Lanka are 1-0 up at the SSC and will want to turn the screws. South Africa will be happy to draw the series, but whether they are capable is the real question.
Form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka: WWDLW South Africa: LWWWL
In the spotlight
While Dimuth Karunaratne scored more than the entire South Africa team in the first Test, he also made more runs than any of his team-mates, which puts the onus on Angelo Mathews among others, to step up. In absence of Dinesh Chandimal, Mathews is the senior-most batsman in the line-up and will want to show that. He was their second-highest run-scorer, behind Chandimal, when they visited India last year, before missing two of the three Test in the West Indies for personal reasons. He has not got past the 30s in his last five innings, numbers that simply won’t do for the man who should be leading with the bat.
On his first tour of the subcontinent, Aiden Markram already showed improvement from one innings to the next in the first Test and will want to leave his mark on the series in Colombo. Markram faced 46 balls in the second innings, six times more than what he faced in the first, and though he was stumped, charging the spinner, he showed a little more patience and a little more finesse the second time. Batting coach Dale Benkenstein expects Markram’s ability to adjust quickly to bring more rewards in the second Test.
Team news
The major decision South Africa have to make is whether or not to leave out Vernon Philander, who despite his efforts with the bat, bowled only 11 of the 112.1 overs they delivered in the Galle Test, and finding a suitable replacement. If it’s an extra batsman they’re looking for, Theunis de Bruyn will slot in. If it’s a bowler, Lungi Ngidi could come into contention.
South Africa: 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Temba Bavuma, 5 Faf du Plessis (capt), 6 Quinton de Kock, 7 Vernon Philander/Theunis de Bruyn, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi
Having had success with a three-pronged spin-attack against Australia at the SSC in 2016, Sri Lanka will probably go with a similar strategy.
Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Dhananjaya de Silva, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Roshen Silva, 7 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Suranga Lakmal (capt), 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Lakshan Sandakan
Pitch and conditions
The SSC surface is expected to take substantial turn in the latter half of the Test, but it does also tend to be conducive to seam bowling on the first morning, and generally has more runs in it than the Galle pitch. Some rain is forecast for every day of the match. However, the second day is the most likely to be affected, with an 80% chance of showers.
Stats and trivia
- Irrespective of the outcome of the series, both South Africa and Sri Lanka will remain in their current positions – No. 2 and No. 6 respectively – on the ICC rankings table. If Sri Lanka win 2-0, they will gain six points, and South Africa will lose six. If the series is drawn 1-1, Sri Lanka only gain two points and South Africa lose two.
- Hashim Amla needs three more runs to become the third South African, after Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith, to 9000 Test runs.
- Angelo Mathews is eight runs away from 5000 runs. He will become the ninth Sri Lanka batsman to reach the milestone.
- In Galle, South Africa lost 17 of their 20 wickets to spin. In Colombo in 2014, they lost the same number of wickets to Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera, but managed to draw the Test and win the series.
Quotes
“It is very important that we win a series, and that we win at home. They are the No. 2-ranked team. We need a victory to gain confidence, so it’s a very important game.”
Rangana HerathFirdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo