South Africa v Sri Lanka 3rd Test, Day 1 - 5 Talking Points

Though things haven’t been going too well for Cricket South Africa (CSA) behind the scenes, their performance on the field shows otherwise. South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first. They dominated the day while Sri Lanka’s efforts went in vain, under dark conditions and an overcast sky at Wanderers. South Africa ended Day 1 of the third and final Test match of the series at 383/3.

With early dismissals of Stephen Cook and Dean Elgar, their opening pair, Sri Lanka would have thought they got a good start. However, they must have walked back to the dressing rooms with slight disappointment at their failed plans as the Hash-JP duo put on a 292-run stand. They will come back on Day 2 with a lot of questions in mind, and look for ways to turn the tables despite it looking like a Test making it’s way to bow down to Hashim Amla and South Africa.

1. Duanne Olivier’s debut:

The departure of Kyle Abbott from CSA and International cricket after his decision to play for Hampshire in his Kolpak contract paved way for Duanne Olivier’s arrival in the South Africa Cricket Team. The 24-year-old seamer is the leading wicket-taker at the domestic level and hence, an automatic selection. We’ll get to see if he’s able to establish a partnership with Hashim Amla. To see how he will take things forward with a set batsman and moreover, a veteran cricketer like him will be awaited.

Also read- Stats: Players who have scored a century in their 100th Test

2. Sri Lanka start well:

Sri Lanka had early success as visiting captain Angelo Mathews and Lahiru Kumara took the opening batsmen quickly. South Africa left with a flimsy start as they were 45 for 2. But the Sri Lankans failed to continue with a good start as Duminy started to take on the bowlers post Lunch and Amla was setting himself up for a daddy hundred. So far only Matthews and de Silva have managed to be economical. Rangana Herath too failed to extract anything from his bowling.

3. Duminy dazzles:

JP Duminy decided to make the day count as he scored a brilliant 155 off 221. He looked ready from the word go and made sure he registered his 6th century with a strike rate of 70.14. He scored 19 fours. While Amla on the other end took things slowly, Duminy was in a different form altogether, taking on all bowlers one after another. It was only in the 89th over that Kumara was able to bring an end to a mammoth partnership and a fine innings as he dismissed Duminy.

4. Hashim Amla’s 100 in 100th Test:

It was Amla’s day as he became only the eighth South African to mark a century of Tests. He brought an end to his “bad form” as he scored a 50+ score after 11 innings. He caused a havoc among the Lankans as he scored a steady century in his 100th Test. Though he did look troubled on crease initially, Amla managed to hang in there, looking a lot stronger against spin. He will look to bat on steadily on Day 2 as well.

5. Lankan bowlers toil hard without success:

Though Angelo Mathews’ field placements were questioned, the main reason that let the Lankans down was their bowling. It was not up to the mark, and it looked haywire also because of Duminy’s form and Amla’s efforts to stay on the crease. Rangana Herath has been expensive at 4.79 while Mathews was the most economical at 2.08. There are 2 wickets in Kumara’s name though he has been hit for 79 runs so far. If this continues, only the weather conditions can be a barrier for South Africa to whitewash Sri Lanka 3-0.

Written by Samreen Razzaqui