Lunch Sri Lanka 237 for 4 (Mathews 53*, Roshen Silva 19*) & 338 lead South Africa 124 by 451 runs
Angelo Mathews chops through point © AFP
With the Test match headed only one way, Sri Lanka took the opportunity to stretch their lead and grind South Africa down before putting them in to bat a second time. South Africa will chase over 450, a target never successfully chased in Asia before, and with puffs of dust, ample turn and the ball keeping low – so much so that Aiden Markram fielded at gully on his knees for part of the morning sessions – it will be more about whether they can end the series with some respectability than anything else.
Dimuth Karunaratne took his personal tally in the two-Test series to 356 runs. He was the only batsman to be dismissed in the morning session on the third day, and only the second in the match to be dismissed by a seamer, when he chased a Lungi Ngidi length ball and a edged to Quinton de Kock. That leaves Dale Steyn as the only frontline bowler to go wicket-less in this Test, as his wait to overtake Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s leading Test bowler continues.
Keshav Maharaj, who sent down 14 overs in the morning session, was unable to add to his 11 scalps and was tiring as the session drew on. He has bowled 72.1 overs in the match so far, and been required to put in long hours on every day of the match, corroborating Ottis Gibson’s statement that the decision not to include a second specialist spinner was “not the best we’ve ever made.”
But it has allowed Sri Lanka’s batsman to fill their boots and Angelo Mathews did not miss out on the opportunity. He passed 50 for the first time since December last year – though he has only played six innings since – to find some confidence ahead of the one-dayers.
There were some nervy moments for Sri Lanka’s batsmen early on. Kagiso Rabada found some reverse swing to draw Karunaratne’s outside edge, but the ball fell between keeper and second slip; Maharaj found Mathews’ inside-edge as he defended for the turn. But with motivation waning, in high heat and humidity, Sri Lanka were soon able to take control.
Karunaratne took two boundaries off Rabada as he lost his lines, offering one down the pads and a full toss. Mathews first shot in anger came off a Steyn short ball, which she slashed to the third man boundary off a thick outside edge.
Sri Lanka were one run short of 200 when Karunaratne was caught behind but his partnership with Mathews was worth 63, contributing handsomely to the home cause. As the session went on, Mathews became more aggressive, started taking on Maharaj and brought up 50 off 86 balls. The only question now is how much longer Sri Lanka will bat, and with runs coming fairly easily and eight sessions left in the game, they could continue for at least the rest of the third day.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo