Karunaratne essayed a superb hand of 158 © AFP
The procession
Oh, disaster for the tourists. De Kock plays down the wrong the line to a tossed up delivery that turns away from him to knock the off-stump. Dream delivery. De Kock has his issues versus off spin. The on field umpire asked for TV umpire’s help to check for the no ball. It looked touch and go. Not sure the bowler had a part of his heel behind the line but the third umpire adjudged it as out.
Poor shot selection
It has now turned into a procession. Sandakan tossed one up and Bavuma instead of trying to drive, aimed to sweep but could only hear the death via the bottom edge. Poor shot selection.
More trouble
Huge moment of the Test! Amla has been dismissed, as Sri Lanka get to overturn a bat-pad decision. Amla walked out of the crease but couldn’t get to the pitch to a delivery that turned from Perera. He could only eke out an inside edge and it deflected via his pad to the FSL fielder. Initially, adjudged not out but overturned on review. On a side note, Amla didn’t walk.
The tourists are still 247 behind.
Another one down…
South Africa are all at sea against spinners. Perera got one to drift a bit and bowled it full. Elgar should have presented a straight bat, instead he played with an angled one and the resultant edge was pouched at first slip. Elgar wasn’t sure whether he had edged it, but Amla, his batting partner, had seen it. And after Elgar consulted his partner, he walked back. The visitors are in big trouble now.
13 for 3!
Early strike:
Herath strikes in his second over of the day to send back nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj for 3. The batsman got a good stride forward but failed to read a straight delivery and was trapped in front. South Africa are 9 for 2.
Dimuth Karunaratne – I played in the ‘A’ side upon my injury. I played a big innings there and that gave me confidence. The first 15 overs were tough, but I rode it and then went on to make a big knock. The wicket here is usually slow, but there was some bounce on this suface, Rabada and Steyn bowled some good bouncers. There’s some turn from the rough, but otherwise it was a good track to bat on. They used the short ball ball, we needed to play smartly and see off the spells.
Build up:
On Day 1 of the opening Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Galle, Karunaratne (158*) arguably played his finest Test innings, as the hosts accumulated 287. Rangana Herath followed it by snuffing out Markram to leave the visitors at 4 for 1 at stumps.
On a turning track, the southpaw batsman from Colombo played late. He also played largely off the back foot, and with a diet of singles and twos, kept the scorecard moving. He also farmed the strike impressively with lower order batsmen – Sandakan and Lakmal – to add 111 crucial runs for the last two wickets. Eventually, when Sandakan was dislodged by Shamsi, the opener became only the 55th cricketer in Test cricket’s history to carry his bat through.
In the past, we have seen Karunaratne essay knocks of significance under pressure. In Christchurch, in 2015, he showed the required batting aptitude to compose a brilliant 130 versus New Zealand. Last year, too, he compiled splendid hands against India and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Kagiso Rabada and Shamsi were the two best bowlers on show for South Africa. Rabada mixed up well directed bumpers and fuller deliveries to exploit the variable bounce on offer while Shamsi used the unorthodox spinner’s angle and variations to keep the opposition in check.
On a track offering grip and sharp turn, South African batsmen need to showcase exemplary defence and temperament to handle the tricks of Herath and co. The veteran left-arm spinner, in all likelihood, will bowl quite a bit of scrambled seam and blend it with the arm ball to keep the batsmen on their toes.
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Shared News | Last updated on Fri, 13 Jul, 2018, 11:16 AM
