SRI LANKA TOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA, 2020-21
South Africa took a resounding 1-0 lead against a bruised and battered Sri Lanka at Centurion © AFP
It wasn’t until they were called in to the field that Sri Lanka showed their faces at Centurion on Tuesday. While South Africa took half of the gardens to warm up for the fourth day of the first test, the visitors either sulked or licked their many wounds on the nets, depending on their preferred view. Or they were out of sight because they would resume 160 behind with an uncertain number of wickets in hand, and they needed all the batting practice they could get.
At lunch, when the Lankans were 77 behind and seven down, Dushmantha Chameera and Asitha Fernando appeared on the field to pitch on one of the unused pitches. There was a spring in their path that had been stolen from Dhananjaya de Silva, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dinesh Chandimal. All had suffered injuries in the first three days, but only de Silva had been ruled out, for the remainder of the series.
Cruelly, on another stretch across the playing field, Kagiso Rabada, fresh from a groin injury, came in like a man who couldn’t wait the next time he would be in XI. That will be on January 3, when the second test begins at the Wanderers.
The last of the five lands that fell in the morning belonged to Vishwa Fernando, who was left without in the last act of the session amid confusion undoubtedly compounded by Hasaranga’s knee or ankle injury. Hasaranga ditched the bat, pads and gloves at the limit and began to climb the 48 steps that led to the dressing room.
The second session began with Aiden Markram bowling from one end and Keshav Maharaj from the other, perhaps in an attempt to reinvigorate the overvaluation, and with Hasaranga at one end and Rajitha at the other. A pitiful sight unfolded without any of the hitters being able to run, and it got even worse when they forgot they couldn’t run.
South Africa lost patience with the soft-soft approach after six laps, and Lutho Sipamla steamed, and Hasaranga hit him four at a time through a long ravine and across the ground. A threatening envelope from Anrich Nortje followed, in which Rajitha jumped like a lizard trying to escape from a jar of jam and scored no runs.
Hasaranga left two balls later, throwing Sipamla long-term. His 59 came out of 53 balls, and 54 of them flowed in six and four. And with him was a lot of guts and courage. It took six more balls to finish the match, which happened when Rajitha caused Nortje to sink.
Wiaan Mulder, who had two catches in the first session, added two wickets to the three he took in the first innings, and it seemed like he wasn’t playing alone in his second test. Will play many more.
It hadn’t been the best three hours of test cricket. South Africa had won an emphatic victory, by one inning and 45 runs, but at what cost to the game? If this had been a boxing match, it would have stopped in the second round. Had it been a football or rugby game, fresh, healthy legs would have been sent into the fray. But this is cricket, which in these circumstances seemed anachronistic and brutal.
South Africa also deserved better. They ended a difficult year playing some of their most impressive cricket games for several years. Faf du Plessis proved, once again, that he is an incomparable asset to his team. Dean Elgar and Markram portrayed the old and new guards with poise. Temba Bavuma shouldn’t have walked, but he had been magnificently composed and determined so far. Sipamla showed the courage to come back from a flabby performance on day one and earned their respect the hard way. Mulder has already made a strong case for being considered South Africa’s all-rounder of choice.
But we will struggle to remember those bright spots. And fight to forget the affected players who try to give their best when they are far from their best. It’s not a pretty memory.
© Cricbuzz
