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| Monday, 9 August 2004 |
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South Africa condemn Galle Test to a draw Sa'adi Thawfeeq reporting from Galle GALLE, Sunday - South Africa shut out the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka and condemned it to a tame draw on the fifth and final day when they failed to show any enterprise towards chasing the target of 325 set for victory at the Galle International Stadium here today. South Africa who began the day needing to score 318 runs off a minimum of 90 overs with all ten wickets in hand eventually finished on 203 for three wickets off 90 overs in what turned out to be drab display of cricket in front of an enthusiastic Sunday crowd who had turned up in their numbers hoping to see an exciting run chase. Sri Lanka gave South Africa more than their share of overs for the day bowling eight in excess before the mandatory overs commenced. With nothing to play for the match was halted after seven mandatory overs. The two Jacques - Kallis (52 n.o. off 129 balls with 6 fours) and Rudolph (27 n.o. off 75 balls, 4 fours) ensured South Africa drew the Test with an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 68 off 146 balls. Kallis's approach to the game emphasized what South Africa had in mind. He made a stroke-filled half-century in the first innings off 78 balls and a similar innings in the second would have been beneficial to their cause in the second had they not put up shutters very early in the innings. Sri Lanka scored 486 and 214-9 declared and South Africa made 376 in their first innings. That South Africa was not intent on chasing the target was quite evident in the morning session when they grafted only 49 runs off 30 overs for the loss of Dippenaar's wicket. The second session produced 79 runs for the loss of two wickets off 32.5 overs and the final session 68 runs off 24 overs. These figures alone surmise how South Africa went about their task during the final day. Right throughout the innings Sri Lanka adopted attacking fields but the slowness of the pitch defeated them. It is pertinent for the Sri Lankan cricket authorities to rethink of playing the first Test of a series at Galle. There was a time when pitches here suited the spinners and Sri Lanka recorded five consecutive Test wins between 2000 and 2002, but the last three Tests played here have produced two drab draws and a loss. The wicket though slow played well with no signs of alarming turn to make life uncomfortable for the batsmen. But South Africa from the outset of the day it seemed had made up their mind that they were not going to make any attempt at chasing the target. As a result the final day's play became a rather tedious affair with the batsmen more on the defensive than on the offensive. The slowness of the wicket and an off-colour Muralitharan who failed to produce his best had a lot to do with Sri Lanka not being able to make any inroads into the South African batting. Although there was appreciable turn the absence of any bounce on the pitch made it difficult for the slow bowlers to beat the bat. As a result Sri Lanka were able to pick up only a solitary wicket in each of the first two sessions. Boeta Dippenaar fell to a bat-pad catch by Jayawardene at silly point off Muralitharan for 11 and then in the afternoon session, Martin van Jaarsveld was trapped lbw on the back foot by Dilshan for 29 and skipper Graeme Smith was out in the penultimate ball before tea kicking the ball onto his stumps in an attempt to stop it from going onto his wicket. Smith who sealed up one end like Jacques Rudolph in the first innings was overcautious in his approach. Having survived a confident lbw appeal against Jayasuriya the first ball he faced, the left-hander went on to complete his sixth Test fifty in 170 minutes off 142 balls with four fours. He blunted the spin of Muralitharan getting to the pitch of the ball and offering a dead bat and his sedate knock of 74 took him 253 minutes and 209 balls inclusive of five fours. The only chance South Africa offered was when Samaraweera at slip failed to hold onto a sharp chance offered by van Jaarsveld when he was on 18 off Chandana, but otherwise the dead bats of the South Africans made certain nothing went to hand. Most impressive of the bowlers was Dilshan whose off-breaks found appreciable turn and he picked up a wicket for 24 runs off 13 overs. Skipper Atapattu rotated seven bowlers around in an effort to make inroads into the South African batting but the slowness of the pitch defeated him. SRI LANKA - 1ST INNINGS 486 SOUTH AFRICA - 1ST INNINGS 376 SRI LANKA - 2ND INNINGS SOUTH AFRICA - 2ND INNINGS (overnight 7-0) G. Smith b Chandana 74 B. Dippenaar c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 11 M. van Jaarsveld lbw b Dilshan 29 J. Kallis not out 52 J. Rudolph not out 27 Extras: (B-1, LB-4, W-4, NB-3) 10 TOTAL: (for three wickets, 90 overs) 203 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-34, 2-98, 3-135. BOWLING: Vaas 10-3-20-0 (nb-1, w-1), Jayasuriya 17-7-30-0, Dilshan 16-5-30-1, Maharoof 5-2-4-0, Muralitharan 20-5-37-1 (nb-1), Chandana 18-1-60-1, Samaraweera 3-0-13-0, Sangakkara 1-0-4-0 (nb-1, w-1). |
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