Ken Borland

Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne is standing between the Proteas and victory in the second Test as he scored 91 not out to shepherd his team to 150 for four, a lead of five runs, at stumps on the second day at the Wanderers on Monday.

Karunaratne is certainly leading from the front as he has occupied the crease for 190 minutes, but the left-hander is putting away the bad ball effectively as he has collected 17 fours off 116 deliveries. With Sri Lanka trailing by 145 runs on first innings and losing master blaster opener Kusal Perera for just a single in the third over, bowled through the gate by a beautiful Lungi Ngidi delivery, it has been important for Karunaratne to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Niroshan Dickwella is with him on 18*.

South Africa’s inexperienced attack endured a flat period as Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne (31) added 85 for the second wicket following the dismissal of Kusal, and it took a big moment of good fortune for the Proteas to shift the momentum.

Thirimanne, who had played a series of superb drives, tried to glance Ngidi off his hip and was caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. Amazingly, Ngidi’s next delivery was similarly off-target but it dismissed Kusal Mendis for a first-ball duck, De Kock taking a stunning leg-side catch diving at full-length. The unfortunate Mendis therefore completed a pair and his third successive duck.

Anrich Nortje then bounced out debutant Minod Bhanuka for 1, Keshav Maharaj taking a brilliant running catch off a top-edged hook, and the Proteas attack looked much more threatening in the last hour of the day, but by then the luck seemed to have shifted and several edges went over the slips or through the gaps between them.

South Africa had begun the second day on 148 for one, just nine runs behind and with both Dean Elgar, on 92 and Rassie van der Dussen, on 40, approaching milestones.

Elgar reached the landmark of three figures first, notching the second-fastest of his 13 Test centuries as he got there in 133 balls, with 18 fours. Van der Dussen went to his half-century off 98 deliveries and the pair passed South Africa’s record second-wicket partnership against Sri Lanka (125 between Elgar & Faf du Plessis in Galle in 2014) and then also broke the Wanderers record of 182 set by Andrew Strauss and Rob Key for England back in 2004/5.

Elgar scored the couple of runs that took the partnership to 184, but he was dismissed by the next delivery, Dushmantha Chameera bowling a fine delivery that just nipped away a touch to find the edge of the left-hander’s bat. Elgar was caught at first slip for 127, ending four hours of quality batsmanship in which he showed a tremendous ability to bat fluently, absorb pressure and then lift the scoring rate again.

The wicket of Van der Dussen followed in the next over, Sri Lanka needing good use of the review system to confirm the 31-year-old had gloved a paddle-pull down the leg side off Dasun Shanaka, wicketkeeper Dickwella scrambling to take the catch.

Sri Lanka then quickly ran through the rest of the Proteas batting, the last nine wickets falling for just 84 runs as they were bowled out for 302, left-arm swing bowler Vishwa Fernando leading an excellent bowling comeback with five for 101, his maiden five-wicket haul.

He was well supported by skilful seamer Shanaka and feisty debutant Asitha Fernando, who took two wickets each.

An emphasis on dot-balls – being able to both deliver them and absorb them when batting – stood the Proteas in good stead on Sunday as they dominated the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers.

Having lost the toss and being sent into the field to bowl first, South Africa had to weather a blazing 60 off 67 balls by opener Kusal Perera before fighting back to claim the last nine wickets for just 86 runs to bowl Sri Lanka out for only 157. Wiaan Mulder sparked the collapse by taking three wickets for one run just before lunch, before fast bowler Anrich Nortje ran through the rest of the batting with career-best figures of six for 56.

Dean Elgar (92*) and Rassie van der Dussen (40*) were then able to adapt their games to how well Sri Lanka were bowling as they added 114 for the second wicket to take the Proteas to 148 for one at stumps. There were periods when the Sri Lankan bowling was exceptional and both batsmen showed great composure and patience to ride out those tough periods.

Elgar changed gears impressively: his first 25 runs came at a run-a-ball but he reached his half-century off 70 deliveries, before accelerating again as his next 42 runs came off 49 balls. Van der Dussen faced 26 deliveries before getting off the mark but refused to give his wicket away in an immense display of restraint.

“As a bowling unit we did very well and it was great to improve the way we did after the first innings at Centurion. Lungi Ngidi bowling three maidens up front set the tone and we knew that if we were building dots them something will happen. Credit to Wiaan for bowling really well from the start, he didn’t just bowl dot balls but got wickets as well which helps us so much.

“We just wanted to be tight and keep things as simple as possible, use the extra bounce and not try and do miracles. We stuck to what we wanted which was to bowl in the channel, get dot balls and not try to do too much. It’s very important to bring the run-rate down because that usually creates wickets, but Dean and Rassie knew they had a lot of time and did not rush. They played that tight period very well, they knew there was no need to try and hit balls outside off that posed a risk. They played the conditions really well and when the straight balls came they got the runs. Credit to them, they really batted well,” Nortje said after the close of play.

Mulder may not have the excess speed of Nortje, but it was the all-rounder who pulled Sri Lanka back by removing Kusal with a good length delivery angled across the left-hander. Sticking to that probing line and length and getting a bit of movement was what he used to dismiss Kusal Mendis and Lahiru Thirimanne as well.

“Wiaan got the wickets he deserved and he has been amazing for us. He still bowls at a good speed, but to have control like that is so valuable. Dwaine Pretorius did a similar role against England and it’s nice to have a bowling partnership like that. Wiaan just keeps doing what he does and that makes it much easier for the rest of us.

“He doesn’t just hold up an end. He’s building pressure and adding a lot of value to the attack,” Nortje said.

Dean Elgar followed up his 206-minute occupation of SuperSport Park in the first Test by making the Wanderers his own erf of batting tenaciousness, steering South Africa to 148 for one, just nine runs behind Sri Lanka’s total, on the first day of the second Test on Sunday.

With Anrich Nortje taking a career-best six for 56 in 14.3 overs, finishing off the fine work of Wiaan Mulder before lunch, Sri Lanka were bundled out just after 2pm for 157 in only 40.3 overs. Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen then ensured the Proteas made a solid response as they added 114 for the second wicket.

Elgar made it to stumps on 92 not out, having batted for 174 minutes and faced 119 balls, and showed a great ability to adapt his game, absorbing pressure when necessary and changing gears when possible. His first 25 runs came at a run-a-ball, but after tea when Sri Lanka stuck to really disciplined lines and lengths, he showed great patience and resolve. Later in the afternoon, when the shackles were released a bit, the left-hander was able to regain his fluency.

Van der Dussen was even more patient, showing the sort of composure that comes from experience as he took 26 deliveries to get off the mark, but bided his time, sticking to his game plan until the Sri Lankan bowlers backed off. The 31-year-old went to stumps on 40 not out, after 139 minutes and 82 deliveries, having come to the crease in the third over after tea after Aiden Markram (5) was caught in the slips off debutant Asitha Fernando, who took the new ball and produced an impressive first spell in Test cricket.

Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat first under cloudy skies in cool conditions, and opener Kusal Perera’s belligerent 60 off 67 balls took them to 71 for one, before experiencing a dramatic collapse that saw them lose nine wickets for 86 runs.

South Africa’s fast bowlers were having difficulty tying Kusal down and the left-hander bashed 11 fours in his innings as anything approaching full in length was lashed through the covers. But Mulder changed the complexion of the game, finding the perfect length and some away movement as he took three wickets for one run before lunch.

Kusal was caught in the slips as he planted the front foot, reached for a drive and edged the delivery going across him, with Kusal Mendis (0) and Lahiru Thirimanne (17) also being caught in the slips. Mulder also ended with career-best figures of three for 25.

Nortje came to the fore after lunch, Sri Lanka’s lower-order being unable to cope with the combination of high pace and a fuller length as he took five for 35 in the second session.

“Kusal batted really well and if you gave him any width he was immediately on to it, but I’m very happy with the end result. As a unit the bowlers did very well and it was great to improve on the first innings at Centurion. Wiaan did really well, he’s not just bowling dot balls but taking wickets as well, which helps us so much.
“I just tried to be tight, keep it as simple as possible and use the extra bounce. You’re not trying to do miracles and we stuck to what we wanted, which is bowling in the channel after we were a bit wide and maybe both sides of the wicket at Centurion. Today we created lots of opportunities and those bowling partnerships is what we want,” Nortje said.

Only Wanindu Hasaranga (29) and Dushmantha Chameera (22) gave the Proteas much pause for thought as they added 39 for the eighth wicket.

But Monday could be a long second day for Sri Lanka, with batting likely to be easier.

Kagiso Rabada is still not going to be there so the Proteas know the consistency of their inexperienced bowling attack is going to be their main area of focus in the second Test against Sri Lanka which starts at the Wanderers on Sunday.

Proteas management confirmed on Saturday that although they were happy with Rabada’s progress after recovering from a groin strain, they are still working on getting his bowling workloads up and they do not want to risk him with tough series against Pakistan and Australia still to come this summer.

It means South Africa will almost certainly go into the second Test with the same attack that played at Centurion and featured their least capped pace quartet since 1993. Given their rawness, it was not surprising that they struggled on the first day, getting carried away with the pace and bounce of the SuperSport Park pitch, struggling with their lines and not sticking to a full enough length. But they improved steadily and their bowling on the final day was spot-on.

“We have a very inexperienced bowling attack with KG not there to lead. Maybe they were trying too hard, they were nervous, and when the batsmen are scoring so quickly, it’s difficult to step back and take your time – that’s where the inexperience comes in. But from the second innings you could see the mindshift. In our language we also tried to give them more confidence.

“It’s all about the character they showed in that second innings. They bowled different lines and lengths and just tried to keep things as simple as possible. It was great to see them stand up and I can tell you that in the two days of practice we’ve had since then, it was some of the best bowling I’ve seen in the nets. The bowling has shown a massive improvement from that second innings,” senior player Dean Elgar said on Saturday.

The Proteas produced a top-class batting performance at Centurion, but Elgar acknowledged that it was against a depleted Sri Lankan attack and Sunday will bring a fresh start at the Wanderers.

“We scored more than 600 and you can’t take that hard work for granted, it was a good effort, but we have to be mindful that their bowling attack was hit by quite a few injuries. Still, we’ll take a lot of confidence from that performance and it was nice that a lot of batsmen got good starts. Scoring more than 600 has been a bit foreign to us of late, but we’ve put a stake in the ground now.

“We’ve been batting well domestically but it was great to do it at international level. A guy like Aiden Markram, who has been away from the team, brought his form of domestic cricket and proved that he’s not just a batsman who can score runs at domestic level, he can do it at this level too. And then it was very important that Faf du Plessis and I put in big performances as leaders and it was lovely to see Kesh Maharaj get runs too,” Elgar said.