Sri Lanka lose openers
Sri Lanka lost two wickets after taking a pounding from South African
batsmen Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers on the second day of the third
and final Test at Newlands on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka were 149 for two at the close in reply to South Africa’s
580 for four declared, a deficit of 431 runs.
Kallis made a career-best 224 and De Villiers hit an unbeaten 160
before the declaration.
Sri Lankan captain Tillekeratne Dilshan hit a dashing 78 before he
was caught at deep mid-on off leg-spinner Imran Tahir. Fellow opener
Lahiru Thirimanne was earlier bowled by Morne Morkel for 23 as Sri Lanka
set out on the massive task of playing themselves back into the match
after Dilshan’s decision to send South Africa in backfired
spectacularly.
South Africa scored at better than four runs an over and were able to
declare in mid-afternoon in an attempt to push for a series-clinching
victory.
Kallis was out in the last over before lunch when he was caught at
mid-on off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath after batting for 435
minutes.
He faced 325 balls and hit 31 fours and a six. His fourth wicket
partnership with De Villiers was worth 192. South Africa added 106 runs
in 28.3 overs before lunch before the scoring rate rocketed after the
interval as De Villiers and Jacques Rudolph (51 not out) piled on
another 127 runs off 20.3 overs in 79 minutes.
De Villiers reached his century off 176 balls and then cut loose,
adding another 60 off 29 balls. His innings included 19 fours and two
sixes - the latter hit off successive balls from Dilshan.
Kallis, resuming on 159, hit boundaries off his first two balls of
the day, from Dhammika Prasad. But he had an escape on 171 when Prasad
was able to make a ball deviate enough off the pitch for Kallis to edge
it low to second slip where a diving Mahela Jayawardene got his fingers
to the ball but was unable to hold on.
There was more good fortune for Kallis on 183 when he edged Angelo
Mathews between wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal and Jayawardene, who was
at a wide solitary slip.
Kallis, playing in his 150th Test, reached his double century off 280
balls with 29 fours and a six. His previous double century came against
India at Centurion last season when he made 201 not out.
The pitch continued to play easily when Dilshan and Thirimanne
launched Sri Lanka’s reply. They put on 70 before the left-handed
Thirimanne was bowled by a full-length delivery from Morkel, four runs
after being missed at third slip by De Villiers.
Dilshan raced to the fastest half-century of the match, off only 41
deliveries, but fell in Tahir’s second over when he went for a big hit
but mistimed the ball and was caught by a diving South African captain
Graeme Smith two-thirds of the way to the long-on boundary. Kumar
Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s two most experienced
batsmen, saw their side through to the close. AFP
SCORECARDSouth Africa First innings
(overnight 347-3)
G. Smith b Prasad 16
A. Petersen c Dilshan b Welegedera 109
H. Amla lbw b Prasad 16
J. Kallis c Mathews b Herath 224
A. de Villiers not out 160
J. Rudolph not out 51
Extras (lb1, nb2, w1) 04
Total (4 wkts dec, 139 overs) 580
Fall of wickets: 1-25 (Smith), 2-56 (Amla), 3-261 (Petersen), 4-453
(Kallis)
Bowling: Welegedera 29-7-107-1 (2nb, 1w), Perera 22-1-131-0, Prasad
30-2-154-2,
Mathews 12-0-47-0, Herath 42-4-108-1, Dilshan 4-0-32-0
Sri Lanka First innings
HDRL Thirimanne b Morkel 23
TM Dilshan c Smith b Imran Tahir 78
KC Sangakkara not out 35
DPMD Jayawardene not out 07
Extras(b 4, lb 1, nb 1) 06
Total (2 wickets; 39 overs) 149
To bat TT Samaraweera, AD Mathews, LD Chandimal, NLTC Perera, HMRKB
Herath, UWMBCA Welegedara, KTGD Prasad
Fall of wickets 1-70 (Thirimanne, 14.4 ov), 2-126 (Dilshan, 28.3 ov)
Bowling: DW Steyn 12-2-40-0, D Philander 10-2-34-0, M Morkel 10-2-55-1,
Imran Tahir 7-0-15-1 |
