Second Test
Stumps, Day 2
South Africa: 358 all out (Verreynne 103*, Rickelton 101, Bavuma 78, Kumara 4/79, Fernando 3/29)
Sri Lanka: 243/3 (Nissanka 89, Chandimal 44, Mathews 40, Mendis 30, Rabada 1/40, Maharaj 1/46, Paterson 1/51)
Sri Lanka trail by 116 runs
If either South Africa or Sri Lanka fail to reach the ICC World Test championship final, they will only have themselves to blame.
For both have had opportunities to put their opponents to bed in the opening two days of this crucial second Test at St George’s Park, but have instead manufactured ways to relinquish their advantage.
The Proteas’ bravado opened the door to Sri Lanka late on the first day, and now the visitors have repaid the favour with some equally mystifying shot selection.
Sri Lanka’s strategy for most of the two afternoon sessions was deceptively simple and oppressively effective: get in, do not get out and grind the Proteas down.
Day 2 | Stumps 🟢![CDATA[]]>🟡
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) December 6, 2024
Another thrilling day of test match cricket!🏏
A Verreynne century started the day with a few wickets taken in the last 2 sessions play.
🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦South Africa: 358/10 (1st Innings)
🇱![CDATA[]]>🇰Sri Lanka: 242/3 (1st innings)
Sri Lanka trail by 116 runs going into Day 3.… pic.twitter.com/kvlZpvam3Q
It had proven to be hugely effective, pushing Sri Lanka up to 199/2 heading into the final hour of the day.
Pathum Nissanka (89 off 157 balls) was the cornerstone of the resistance, ably assisted by the evergreen Dinesh Chandimal, as they shared a 109-run partnership for the second wicket.
Nissanka, along with Chandimal, was dogged throughout, diligently avoiding risk while keeping the board ticking along at over three runs an over.
And even after Chandimal (44) was excellently caught behind by Kyle Verreynne, who had earlier pushed the Proteas up to a competitive 358 with his third Test century, off the bowling of Dane Paterson, Nissanka stuck to the script.
It certainly seemed that he was intent to make the most of a dropped chance on 22, when David Bedingham failed to hold to a flying edge at second slip off an exasperated Kagiso Rabada.
But that’s when the red mist took over. There simply is no other explanation for Nissanka charging down the wicket to Keshav Maharaj. The left-arm spinner had been uncharacteristically ineffective for most of the day and offered no sort of threat whatsoever to the Sri Lankan batters.
Nissanka’s misjudgement, head wafting in the air and bat going over the shoulder, only resulted in the ball smashing into his off stump and the chance of a third Test century blown away.
Sri Lanka’s head coach Sanath Jayasuriya simply shook his head in absolute disbelief in the visitors viewing area.
It was an early Christmas gift for the Proteas on this placid St George’s Park surface.
It certainly was one that called for ultra discipline outside the off stump, which vindicated head coach Shukri Conrad’s preference for Paterson’s precision over the raw pace of teenage tearaway Kwena Maphaka.
Paterson was comfortably the Proteas’ most penetrative bowler on the day, while equally up to the task of toiling into the wind.
By comparison, the Proteas’ Kingsmead hero Marco Jansen (0/75) was off the pace and slightly inconsistent and certainly found the conditions in Gqeberha much less to his liking as he leaked more than four runs to the over for the day.
Jansen’s struggles was particularly apparent as the shadows lengthened as his failure to maintain a consistent line or length allowed the Sri Lankans to work their way back into a threatening position through Angelo Matthews (40 not out) and Kamindu Mendis’ (30 not out) unbeaten 43-run partnership for the fourth wicket to take their team up to 243/3.
The Proteas had earlier started their bowling effort just before lunch in high spirits.
Despite the early loss of Maharaj, Verreynne delivered a masterclass in how to bat with the tail as Rabada (28) and then Paterson (9) provided enough support for the little wicket-keeper to launch a vicious assault on the Sri Lankan bowlers.
With the tourists sticking blindly to the short-pitched strategy that had worked the day before, Verreynne adopted an almost Twenty20 approach.
Facing the seam bowlers chest on, Verreynne (103 not out) opened up his left leg to give himself the room to play some audacious pull and hook shots.
There were three boundaries in an over off Asitha Fernando before smashing the fast bowler for a further two sixes in the next over to bring up a sensational third Test century.
It was almost a pity that last-man Paterson was dismissed the next over for Verreynne’s pyrotechnic show had been hugely entertaining.
But that seems all a long way as the Proteas bowlers will now need to dig deep into their reserves to prevent the Sri Lankans from taking a first innings lead on the third day.