SA v SL, 1st Test Day 4, Review: South Africa hold the aces against hapless Lankans

The first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka is moving towards a sure shot result. The day 4 saw some brilliant competition between the bat and the ball. The hosts put a mammoth target of 488 for the visitors. Sri Lanka started off on a good note but slumped midway. The regular fall of wickets did not let them settle into the game. With 5 wickets down and over 200 runs to get, South Africa would fancy their chances of sealing a win on the final day.

Earlier in the match, Sri Lanka had conceded an 81-run lead in the first innings. In response to South Africa’s 286, they were bundled out for 205 owing to a five-wicket haul by Vernon Philander. In the second innings, South Africa rallied along riding on a century by Stephen Cook. Later on day 3, it was some trailblazing batting by Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock who helped the Proteas take their lead in excess of 400. South Africa resumed their overnight score of 351/5 on day 4.

Du Plessis (41*) and de Kock (42*) started off the day on the same note that they had ended on day 3. They hit their shots freely and soon reached their individual half centuries. The 129-run stand for the 6th wicket eventually ended when Rangana Herath caught de Kock plumb on 69. The departure of Quinton de Kock saw the South African skipper Faf du Plessis declare the innings on 406/6. Faf remained unbeaten on 67 as South Africa finished with a lead of 487 runs.

Sri Lanka openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva walked in to open the innings in pursuit of a record-breaking run chase. Both batsmen saw the new ball through and did well to negotiate the early scare by Philander and Kyle Abbott. It was the dreaded score of 87 that saw a wicket fall down for the umpteenth time in cricket history. A horrible mix-up between the two saw Karunratne walk back on 43. They tried to scamper through a quick non-existent single as JP Duminy threw one right on to the stumps from the covers.

Kusal Perera joined Silva at the crease but only to add 6 runs to the total. Keshav Maharaj made short work of Perera as he was caught behind. Kusal Mendis came in at number 4. The onus was on Kaushal Silva, the set batsman, to anchor the innings after sudden jolts. But it was not to be as he fell short of a well deserved fifty by just 2 runs. Kagiso Rabada got rid of Silva on 48.

Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews then made it a point to restore the innings from 118/3. Both batsmen added 75 runs for the 5th wicket partnership. In the process, Mendis notched up his third Test fifty. He could not add more to it and the partnership was broken by Rabada who got an edge of Mendis’s bat on 58 (90). Dinesh Chandimal battled 38 balls for his 8 runs before Keshav Maharaj bagged his second wicket for the day.

Towards the end of the day, skipper Mathews brought up his 26th Test fifty as he waged a lone war. Dhananjaya de Silva helped Mathews see the day for Sri Lanka as the tourists finished on 240/5 at the end of day 4. Sri Lanka still needs 248 runs to win, which seems to be a far cry.

Brief Scores:

South Africa: 286/10 in 98.5 overs (Duminy 63, Cook 59, Lakmal 5/63; Herath 2/48)

Sri Lanka: 205/10 (Dhananjaya 43, Mathews 39, Philander 5/45, Abbott 3/63)

South Africa: 406/6 decl. (Cook 117, De Kock 69, De Silva 2/91, Lakmal 1/64)

Sri Lanka: 240/5 (Mathews 58*, Mendis 58, Rabada 2/72, Maharaj 2/84)