Ken Borland

South Africa’s batsmen suffered another bitter Kingsmead failure as left-armers Chanaka Welegedara and Rangana Herath ran through them on the second day of the second test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

    Welegedara claimed career-best figures of five for 52 in 16.4 overs, while spinner Herath took four for 49 as South Africa were bowled out for just 168, giving Sri Lanka a first-innings lead of 170.

    Sri Lanka lost the wicket of captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, caught in the slips off Dale Steyn for four, and reached seven for one in their second innings before the umpires stopped play due to bad light.

    South Africa, who have lost their last three tests at Kingsmead, collapsed dramatically after tea, losing their last seven wickets for 65 runs.

    Several of them were dismissed playing loose strokes, with AB de Villiers (25) steering the fifth ball after tea, from Welegedara, straight to second slip, to give South Africa the worse possible start to the final session.

    Hashim Amla (54) edged a flatfooted prod outside off stump at Welegedara to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal, while Ashwell Prince (11) was caught trying to reverse-sweep Herath.

    Herath also picked up the wickets of Mark Boucher for three and Morne Morkel for a duck as South Africa crashed to 119 for eight. They only managed to avoid the follow-on because the tailenders managed to hang about.

    Imran Tahir scored 11 before one of his few attempts to defend the ball resulted in him being stumped off Herath, while last man Marchant de Lange was caught behind for nine off Welegedara.

    Steyn decided that attack was the best form of resistance as he struck two fours and two sixes in his 29 not out.

    But South Africa’s ignominous collapse followed totals of 138 against Australia and 133 versus England in Durban in 2009; and 131 all out against India a year ago.

    Sri Lanka were forced to come out and bat for 2.1 overs in gloomy light, with the floodlights on, and Dilshan clubbed a four over cover-point before edging Steyn’s next delivery to second slip.

    Tharanga Paranivatana, who is yet to score, and Kumar Sangakkara, on three, will be there to build on Sri Lanka’s considerable lead on the third morning.

    Amla’s counter-attacking half-century had steered South Africa to 100 for three at tea, after the home team had slumped to 27 for three.

Welegedara started the rot with two wickets in four balls, removing Graeme Smith for 15 and Jacques Kallis for a duck.

Jacques Rudolph fell for seven when he pulled a short, leg-side delivery from Thisara Perera to fine-le,g where Welegedara lunged forward to take a good catch.

Earlier, fast bowler De Lange grabbed seven wickets on his debut, while Thilan Samaraweera compiled his 13th test century as Sri Lanka chalked up 338, their biggest total in South Africa.

De Lange took seven for 81 as Sri Lanka were bowled out 35 minutes before lunch. The 21-year-old’s figures are the best by a South African against this opposition – surpassing Shaun Pollock’s six for 30 in Cape Town in 2000-01.

Samaraweera, 35, scored 102 to steer Sri Lanka past their previous best total of 323 at Centurion in 2002-03.

De Lange’s burst of three wickets in eight balls cut short Sri Lanka’s resistance after they had resumed on 289 for seven.

Samaraweera, who resumed on 86, continued to bat in a controlled fashion as he and Herath put on 46 for the eighth wicket.

De Lange then cleaned up the tail by removing Herath (30) and Welegedara (2) with nasty, lifting deliveries.

Samaraweera was last man out, caught by deep cover Prince off the young paceman.

South Africa lead the three-match series 1-0.

AB de Villiers fell irritatingly short of a century but put South Africa in a commanding position after the second day of the first test against Sri Lanka at Centurion on Friday.

    De Villiers scored 99 as South Africa, replying to Sri Lanka’s first innings of 180, amassed 389 for nine for a lead of 209 runs.

    The 27-year-old had just driven seamer Thisara Perera straight down the ground for four to go to 99, but much to his ire, he cut the next delivery, which was short and wide, low to backward point, where substitute Dimuth Karunaratne dived forward to take a good catch.

    De Villiers showed great determination and concentration in his 135-ball innings that was studded with fine strokeplay that brought him 12 fours.

    Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher, both under pressure to keep their places in the team, were also able to rise to the occasion as South Africa’s lower-order more than doubled the score after they were struggling on 173 for five.

    Prince scored 39 before he edged medium-pacer Angelo Mathews to wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva, but the left-hander could consider himself fortunate to have survived two dropped catches. Prince was dropped by Perera, diving forward in the gully, off Dilhara Fernando on 23, and by Silva off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath when he had 26.
    Boucher finished the day on 49 not out, helping himself to six fours in a confident innings that has eased the pressure on the veteran wicketkeeper/batsman.

    Last man Imran Tahir batted with cavalier disdain for the bowlers and stayed with Boucher for the last 38 minutes before stumps, making his highest test score of 24 not out as they put on 39 for the 10th-wicket, extending the lead past 200.

    Sri Lanka’s attack had bowled with perseverance but little penetration as they failed to obtain the same assistance from the pitch that the South African bowlers had.

    Perera was the most succesful bowler with three for 114 in 24 overs.
De Villiers and Prince combined in a sixth-wicket stand of 97 to take South Africa into a handy lead.
The pair rescued the innings against a probing Sri Lankan attack which had reduced South Africa to 173 for five shortly after lunch.
Left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegedara removed Jacques Kallis for 31 in the fourth over after lunch, his first from the Hennops River End. South Africa’s leading run-scorer drove at a delivery that pitched on off stump and was moving further away from him to edge a tumbling catch to Mathews at third slip.
De Villiers took no risks, pushing singles through the off side but punishing any poor deliveries on the leg side.

    Prince was off to a quick, if streaky, start, collecting four fours, all of them to the third man boundary, off 98 balls.

    A top-class spell of seam bowling by Perera had earlier allowed Sri Lanka to restore a semblance of parity as South Africa reached 168 for four at lunch.
South Africa had resumed on 90 for one, but made a poor start to the day when nightwatchman Dale Steyn was run out for a duck in the second over of the morning.
Steyn fended a lifting delivery from Welegedara away on the leg-side and there was confusion between him and Jacques Rudolph, allowing Rangana Herath at mid-wicket to score a direct hit on the stumps.
Rudolph and Hashim Amla (18) added 35 for the third wicket, but the Sri Lankan bowlers kept plugging away and Perera reaped the reward.
Bowling a consistent line and length outside off stump, Perera found the edge of Amla’s bat and Mathews took a fine diving catch at third slip.
Opening batsman Rudolph, battling the pain of a dislocated little finger on his left hand, showed tremendous determination in a 228-minute vigil at the crease, but Perera ended his resistance on 44, nipping away a delivery that found the edge and travelled low to Tharanga Paranavitana at first slip.
Kallis’s 56-ball stay was not without incident.
He ducked into a bouncer from fast bowler Fernando and was struck a disorientating blow on the earpiece of his helmet. Kallis received treatment for seven minutes before resuming his innings on 25 and was lucky as he prodded at the first delivery of Fernando’s next over and edged a catch which diving wicketkeeper Silva should have taken.