South Africa Vs Sri Lanka 1st Test, Day 2 Highlights: SA Push Lead To 281 At Stumps – News18

That ends the action from a long day. It really feels long because as many as 19 wickets fell in about 80-odd overs. The game has cartwheeled around in terrific fashion and such has been the somersault, that there could be a possibility of a Day 3 finish. But for cricket’s sake, let’s hope we get more action. The forecast for Friday is equally good with no rain forecast. The first ball will be bowled at 7.30 am GMT with 15 minutes added to the first two sessions to cover up for lost time. Our buildup will certainly be starting well in advance. In the meanwhile, you can also catch all the action from the New Zealand-England Test. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

Will Sanath Jayasuriya’s reaction at the fag end of the day be the mood in the camp of the Lankans? Of course, you cannot be expecting them to be bouncing up and down but they cannot allow themselves to be downcast too much. The three seamers have bowled their heart out and kept on trying. They will face a stiffer challenge on Day 3, because it could be the best day to bat in this Test. Can they find another 7 ways to get South Africa all out? Realistically speaking, if they can keep the hosts under 250, they can still think about chasing down around 400 in the next 2 and a half days. We said, think. At least, to be positive. The morning session is crucial. If that goes South Africa’s way, this Test will then become a mere formality.

Temba Bavuma was batting overnight on Day 1. Temba Bavuma will be again batting overnight on Day 2. Just that an entire innings has transpired between those two sentences. Time is definitely not an issue and the skipper will be looking for some more runs from his batting unit on Friday. This is just the start of the home season, so they need not hurry into thoughts of declaration and all, especially with the pitch getting better and better.

South Africa will be mightily pleased with their effort. They were visibly upset with their own batting performance in the first innings but Marco Jansen more than made their day, taking 7 out of Sri Lanka’s 10 wickets, picking his career-best haul in a Test match inning. After that, normalcy seems to have resumed, with the pitch easing out, but the top order will still feel they missed out in better conditions.

Almost two different conditions in two different halves of the day. The first half saw plenty of bounce and seam movement, which saw both sides’ bowlers profit. First, Sri Lanka kept South Africa to 191, although they could have kept them to a lot less at 117/7 but then, were shocking shot out for 42 themselves, literally hitting themselves on their own foot. Since then, they have been playing catch up and even though they have picked up 3 wickets, they will understand that their backs are already against the wall with 3 days still left in the game.

That should be it for the day. We look at the umpires again and the bails are off.

39.6 – No run.

39.5 – No run.

39.4 – Full and on middle and off, Temba Bavuma leans ahead and blocks it out.

39.3 – Full, on middle, Temba Bavuma turns it around to mid-wicket.

39.2 – Around off, punched down to long off for a run.

39.1 – 1 run.

All eyes at the umpire. Their eyes are at the clock. It says, 4 minutes to go. So we play on. Time for some changing of guard, removing of shoe laces, gloves etcc and putting them back on?

38.6 – Good length, over off, Tristan Stubbs is solid in defence!

Batsman_1 : Tristan Stubbs 16(50)

Batsman_2 : Temba Bavuma 23(40)

Bowler : Lahiru Kumara 0/14(7)

Over : 39

Run : 0

Wicket : 0

Score : 130/3

38.5 – Back of a length, on off, Tristan Stubbs hops back and pushes it out to cover.

38.4 – Fuller again, on off, Tristan Stubbs offers a solid block on the front foot.

38.3 – Fuller and on off, Tristan Stubbs taps it to mid off.

36.1 – Charges in from over the wicket and goes right at the toes, fired in full, Tristan Stubbs jams it out.

Lahiru Kumara is called back on for one final burst for the day. Can he break this partnership and give Sri Lanka something to smile about, heading into Day 3? 5-2-10-0 so far.

35.5 – Tossed up, on off, Tristan Stubbs firms it to long off for a single.

35.4 – Full, at the stumps, Temba Bavuma drives it to long on for a single.

35.6 – Full, on off, Temba Bavuma drives it on the full but cant beat cover.

Batsman_1 : Temba Bavuma 15(31)

Batsman_2 : Tristan Stubbs 14(41)

Bowler : Prabath Jayasuriya 2/40(13)

Over : 36

Run : 4

Wicket : 0

Score : 120/3

36.3 – Fuller this time, on off, Temba Bavuma taps it to cover.

36.2 – On a length, on off, Tristan Stubbs punches it to sweeper cover for a single.

Who would be less interested in having another over? Sri Lanka have had a torrid day and would not want another over, unless they get a wicket. South Africa, on the other hand, would be happy to go off and put their feet up in the dressing room. We have more than 5 minutes left, so we should definitely have one more over. The thing is, if Prabath Jayasuriya bowls from the other end and the batters just keep blocking him out, then we might get one more after that!

38.2 – Pulls the length back and angles it in, on a short of a length, cramping the batter up, Stubbs does well to squeeze it out to the leg side.

38.1 – Outside off, on a length, Tristan Stubbs is happy to let it go past.

37.6 – Full, on off, slower as well, Temba Bavuma pushes it to short cover.

Batsman_1 : Temba Bavuma 23(40)

Batsman_2 : Tristan Stubbs 16(44)

Bowler : Prabath Jayasuriya 2/46(14)

Over : 38

Run : 6

Wicket : 0

Score : 130/3

37.5 – A bit short and on middle, Tristan Stubbs makes some room and punches it firmly to the left of mid off who does well to move across and gets his body behind the line. Fails to cling on to the ball neatly and the batters cross.

37.4 – Goes back to the fuller length, on off, Temba Bavuma eases it out to deep cover for a single.

37.3 – FOUR! Prabath Jayasuriya drags the length down and Temba Bavuma makes sure to cash in. On middle and kept really short, Bavuma rocks back and pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary. His first of the innings.

37.2 – Full, on middle, Temba Bavuma flicks it well but the fielder at mid-wicket does even better to dive to his left and make a stop.

37.1 – Tossed up, on off, Temba Bavuma leans on and makes a block.

36.6 – Short of a length, on leg, Temba Bavuma tucks it to deep fine leg for a single.

Batsman_1 : Temba Bavuma 18(35)

Batsman_2 : Tristan Stubbs 15(43)

Bowler : Lahiru Kumara 0/14(6)

Over : 37

Run : 4

Wicket : 0

Score : 124/3

36.5 – Hits the deck hard, on a back of a length, around middle and leg, Temba Bavuma whips it across awkwardly but manages to keep it all along the ground towards deep square leg. The fielder slides to his left and makes a stop keeping it down to just the two.

Reload. Kumara comes charging in but loses his runup. So has to go back and start again.

36.4 – Hurls it on a good length, outside off, Bavuma holds his bat up and lets it go past.

35.3 – Floated full, on off, Temba Bavuma pushes it out to cover.

35.2 – Full, outside off, Temba Bavuma cuts hard to deep point for a couple of runs.

35.1 – Flighetd full, on off, Temba Bavuma strides out and makes a block.