South African bowlers fight for pace and control as tourists finish the first day on top
Sri Lanka 340 of 6 (Chandimal 85, de Silva 79, Mulder 3-68) vs South Africa
Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva lifted Sri Lanka from 54-3, before each produced effective but contrasting tackles that each ended in disgrace, rather than any significant flaws of their own. His 131-race position not only changed a day that seemed to be going badly, but also steered Sri Lanka to its highest total in South Africa: its 340 of 6 at the end of the day on the cusp of beating the previous best: 342 at Newlands. in 2012.
The races also came quickly on the first day, despite the constant movement of the seam from this surface, in addition to the uneven bounce. Sri Lanka scored with four runs per over throughout the day: de Silva led the way with a hit rate of 75 during his 79 innings. However, de Silva had to retire injured with a seemingly serious thigh injury , will worry the visitors. They need it for their deflection almost as much as they need it for hitting.
South Africa’s inexperienced attack was guilty of being capricious and was at times too easy to attack its lines and lengths. No one personified this better than rookie Lutho Sipamla, who was given the new ball and went 28 in his first three overs, though his control improved throughout the day, and he even claimed a wicket in the third session.
No South African bowler had less than three runs over. Even Anrich Nortje, who occasionally crossed 93 mph / 150 km / h, and was frequently in the mid-range of 140 km / h, was shot down on occasion by De Silva and other members of the Sri Lankan higher order.
Wiaan Mulder took three wickets, but maybe he was lucky: He had Kusal Perera trapped behind chasing a short wide ball in the morning, then he had a ball that leapt dramatically off the surface to grab the handle of Chandimal’s bat in the third session ( his lbw against Niroshan Dickwella was all him, though). Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Sipamla each took a wicket. Keshav Maharaj found a twist towards the end of the day, but was largely forced to try to hold off the Sri Lankan hitters, even as they frequently used their feet to try to attack him.
While Chandimal was the best scorer of the day, hitting 85 to 161, there was little doubt that De Silva was the most impressive inning. He crossed the back half of the first session and perfected the first half of the second, beginning his scoring with a commanding move over the midwicket, before deploying a series of exquisite units, which defined his shot.
Nortje was the fastest in this period and yet De Silva was completely calm for the pace, throwing a Nortje ball through the covers early in his innings, before smoking it twice after noon shortly after lunch. . He reached fifty with the easiest shot of all – a square path from Wiaan Mulder – and continued to prosper, eleven four and six brightening his stay.
All six were outside of Maharaj. The spinner had raised a strong lbw appeal from him before the ball, but De Silva was immediately flitting across the field to throw it long.
However, his injury in the middle of the afternoon looked terrible. He was wincing when he came to a halt while completing a fast single, and soon collapsed on the non-forward end. After several minutes of treatment in the field, the decision was made to remove him, and he had to be driven in the back of a buggy, then virtually carried up the stairs to the locker room. He will undergo scans on Saturday night, but he didn’t seem hopeful that he could play a major role in this match.
Where De Silva sailed to a good score, Chandimal dropped to one. Chandimal’s attack rate barely exceeded 30 at times, although he eventually managed to bring it up to 53 with a series of limits on either side of the tea. At first, Chandimal absorbed the deliveries and saved the expansive shots, choosing to only punish the really bad deliveries.
That’s not to say there were no pretty shots: Nortje’s two far limits were eye-catching, and he cut brutally every time the players widened. He seemed determined to hit the triple figures, when a Mulder ball came up on a springboard from behind, grabbed the handle of his bat and found Faf du Plessis sliding.
However, before being fired, Chandimal also partnered 99 races with Niroshan Dickwella, who himself fell just a half-century career short. Dickwella, now a more mature test hitter than he ever was, played attentive early in his innings and didn’t hit his first limit until his 16th ball. He was strong on the out side as usual, but missed one. film against Mulder and correctly given lbw (although Dickwella checked). Sri Lankan off-roaders Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga carried the team past the 300 mark, and Shanaka was still on the stumps, at 25 not out.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is the ESPNcricinfo correspondent in Sri Lanka. @afidelf
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