Image Source : GETTY IMAGES Anrich Nortje
Sri Lanka crashed to 157 all out on the primary day of the second take a look at in South Africa on Sunday to seek out no respite after dropping the sequence opener closely, and shedding a number of gamers to accidents.
South Africa’s tempo bowlers plowed via the patched-up Sri Lankan order in simply 40.3 overs on the Wanderers after Sri Lanka selected to bat first, with Anrich Nortje taking a career-best 6-56 and Wiaan Mulder 3-25, additionally his greatest figures.
South Africa’s batsmen pressed house the benefit, reaching 148-1 at stumps to all however erase the first-innings deficit. Dean Elgar was 92 not out. He was out for 95 within the first take a look at — the one time he is been dismissed within the 90s in assessments — and has a nervous evening in retailer as he contemplates a century.
But South Africa was snug in any other case and taking a look at clinching a sequence victory within the two-test contest. The Proteas received the primary take a look at by an innings and 45 runs to place them heading in the right direction for a primary sequence win in two years.
Like within the first sport, Sri Lanka made a promising begin in Johannesburg solely to fall away shortly. Opener Kusal Perera hit a flamboyant 60 from 67 balls and with him taking part in fluently, Sri Lanka reached 71-1 after selecting to bat first.
But the image change utterly simply earlier than lunch when Perera prodded exterior off stump and despatched an edge to Aiden Markram within the slips to be the primary of three wickets for Mulder within the area of two overs.
Nortje added one other and Sri Lanka misplaced 4 wickets for 13 runs in 4 overs in that telling interval simply earlier than the break. Suddenly, Sri Lanka was 84-5 at lunch after which all out after simply 16.3 overs of the second session as Nortje wrapped up the tail.
He collected 4 of the final 5 wickets and ended the innings by sending a quick yorker via Asitha Fernando’s defenses to knock out the center stump.
Sri Lanka had 4 gamers dominated out on the Wanderers with accidents picked up within the guests’ massive loss within the first take a look at. Those added to the disaster, with the vacationers already with out skilled pair Angelo Mathews and Suranga Lakmal. It pressured Sri Lanka to offer take a look at debuts to batsman Minod Bhanuka and quick bowler Asitha Fernando on the Wanderers.
The accidents have particularly affected Sri Lanka’s bowling assault, and each considered one of its 5 frontline bowlers on the Wanderers had performed lower than 10 assessments coming into this sport.
Asitha Fernando did declare a primary take a look at wicket to take away Markram early for 5. Sri Lanka could not maintain that stress as Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen (40 not out) placed on an unbroken 114-run stand that saved Sri Lanka toiling with out reward for the final 30 overs of the day.