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Sri Lanka on back foot after Du Plessis’s 199 and double Ngidi strike
On the traditional moving day, South Africa moved mountains as they took a huge first-innings lead of 225 over Sri Lanka on the third day of the first Betway test at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Monday.
Facing the islander’s biggest total in South Africa, 396, the home team responded with a crushing 621 – their largest total at SuperSport Park and their highest against Sri Lanka – led by 199 from their former captain Faf du Plessis, his 10th test century and first against the islanders.
The task for the dispirited tourists was then made even tougher when they lost two wickets in the 12 overs of play remaining, with an impressive Lungi Ngidi dismissing Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne for six and Kusal Mendis for a duck.
Karunaratne was bowled by a delivery that kept low while Mendis fenced at one outside the off-stump, edging to Rassie van der Dussen at first slip.
Kusal Perera, in his inimitable way, made a carefree unbeaten 33 while Dinesh Chandimal (21) helped him add 43 in 44 deliveries as Sri Lanka finished the day on 65 for two wickets, still 160 runs in arrears.
Apart from their purely cricketing misfortunes, Sri Lanka have also suffered a series of injuries that have compromised their chances in this match.
After losing two players – Dhananjaya de Silva (hip) and Kasun Rajitha (groin) – on the first two days, the tourists lost another – strike bowler Lahira Kumara (groin) – on day three.
There was also a temporary injury absence for debutant legspinner, Wanindu Hasaranga and a bee sting for their wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella.
To cap it all, there were even fears that Chandimal may have suffered an injury taking a single off the final ball of the day as he hobbled off the field and onto a first aid buggy.
INJURY SUBSTITUTES
"We're maybe six down with a groin injury to Chandi," said Flower.
Head coach Mickey Arthur said he would use his position on the International Cricket Council's cricket committee to discuss the possibility of injury substitutes, with injuries being more likely because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I will be having a chat at the end of this test match," said Arthur. "I saw India lost one of their quicks today and I suspect all teams will lose quicks as it goes on because the rigours of the workloads are going to be too much with Covid around and the quarantine process."
He blamed the spate of injuries on conditioning, with players having had to train in their homes during lockdown in Colombo, then playing in the Lanka Premier League for a month until shortly before departure for South Africa.
"In terms of loads, conditioning and quarantining, I think you can throw all of them into a melting pot and every one of them probably plays a role."
DU PLESSIS MISSES DOUBLE CENTURY
South Africa’s day of dominance with the bat centred around a magisterial innings from Du Plessis whose innings provided the major building block of the home team’s monster total.
The former South African skipper featured in two record partnerships (179 and 133 respectively) in tests against Sri Lanka for the fifth and seventh wickets with Temba Bavuma (71) and Keshav Maharaj (73) before, in trying to loft legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga over mid-on for what would have been his maiden double century, he miscued to Karunaratne.
It was an unfortunate end to an outstanding innings and the onlooking Dean Elgar, the only other South African to be dismissed for the same score, certainly felt his pain.
Nevertheless, Du Plessis’s knock, which spanned 276 balls and included 24 fours, was the key to the South African innings, enabling the likes of Bavuma, Wiaan Mulder (36) and Maharaj to bat around him.
Du Plessis admitted he had a point to prove after being criticised after South Africa lost a series against England last season.
"The highest tree sometimes gets the most wind," he said. "(In) the series against England we didn't play our best cricket and there was a lot of pressure on me as captain."
Du Plessis said he had used the long Covid-induced break to prepare himself to be the best cricketer he could be. "It was a statement to people who might have doubted my ability to say that I can still improve."
Faf's 10th test ton
Resuming on their overnight total of 317 for four wickets, Du Plessis and Bavuma did particularly well to bat through the challenges of the second new ball.
Bavuma struck his 14th test half-century before his mysterious dismissal shortly before lunch when he flashed at a delivery from Dasun Shanaka and walked immediately following Sri Lankan appeals for caught behind. UltraEdge showed, however, that he had not touched the ball.
The little right-hander had nevertheless played an important role in the record fifth-wicket partnership, striking seven fours in his 125-ball 71.
Mulder helped Du Plessis add a further 77 for the sixth wicket, but it was Maharaj, who struck six fours and two sixes in his biggest test score, who really propelled South Africa towards their final total.
From a Sri Lankan point of view, Hasaranga will have learnt many lessons from his ordeal and it was to his credit that he finally finished with 4-171 from an epic 45 overs. The next most successful bowler was Vishwa Fernando with 3-129.
It was another entertaining day of test cricket with a total of 369 runs scored for the loss of eight wickets at a rollicking rate of 4.49 runs per over. But it is the South Africans who will undoubtedly sleep better tonight.
SOUTH AFRICA: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock (capt & wk), Temba Bavuma, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi
SRI LANKA: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
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