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Dhananjaya de Silva had to retire not because of a leg problem (Gallo Images)
- Sri Lanka enters the second test against Proteas devastated by injuries.
- The visitors have had at least four players ruled out for the game.
- The Proteas take a 1-0 lead over the Wanderers, watching a series of shutouts.
A very changed Sri Lankan The unit will have to play its skin in the second test that begins Sunday if they want to tie the series against the Proteas.
Sri Lanka’s captain and batter Dimuth Karunaratne confirmed on Saturday that they would not have the critical quartet of Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha for the match.
The defeats of De Silva and Chandimal in particular will be deeply felt.
The two middle order hitters brought the fight to South Africa on the first day of the first tryout with an entrepreneurial hitting.
De Silva was Sri Lanka’s most fluid hitter and asked probing questions about South Africa’s youth bowling attack.
When he limped off with the thigh injury that has ruled him out of the series, he took Sri Lanka’s fluidity with him despite the fact that Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s most experienced hitter, picked up his pace.
Karunaratne, who will be asked to do some heavy lifting with the bat, said they will have to rely on their young side to do the business.
“We don’t have the top 11 at the moment, but we do have some good youngsters. Everyone has done well in national cricket in Sri Lanka. We know we have to win this game to tie the series. We believe the youngsters will do it all. as possible because in the last series, we didn’t have our senior players in Angelo Mathews and Chandimal, “Karunaratne said.
“I still believe that we can do it because we have a young and talented team. If we can do well in every session, I think we can have a chance to win.”
The losses of the fierce Kumara and Rajitha played a massive role in Sri Lanka’s first innings of 396, its highest total against South Africa, being totally inadequate by SA’s massive 621.
There are also question marks regarding the fitness of Wanindu Hasaranga and Suranga Lakmal, and Karunaratne confirmed that the duo will undergo a fitness test later on Saturday.
Hasaranga played an important all-round job with bat and ball in Test 1 as the bowlers came out one by one where he, Dasun Shanaka and Vishwa Fernando bravely held the fort.
If Lakmal finds fitness, it will be a much-needed boost for Sri Lanka, even though they can still keep up with Dushmantha Chameera.
“We reviewed Suranga’s injury and today he has a fitness test. We have a young but energetic team that can compete with South Africa. We have some young people who can show us what they can do,” Karunaratne added.
Sunday’s game starts at 10:00.
