Gqeberha [South Africa], : Sri Lanka batters showed grit to stand tall against South Africa on the second day of the second Test at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Friday.
At stumps on Day 02, Sri Lanka stood at 242/3 with Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis unbeaten on the crease.
According to ICC, after resuming the day at 269/7, South Africa’s lower-order batters put on a strong show with the bat – Kyle Verreyne carried on from his overnight 48* to notch up an unbeaten 105, helping South Africa post a formidable 358.
Despite that, Sri Lanka’s batters put on a commendable display, with Pathum Nissanka’s half-century and sizeable contributions from Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis helping the visitors reduce the deficit to 116 runs, Sri Lanka going into stumps at 242/3.
Vishwa Fernando made amends for a wicketless opening day by picking up the wickets of Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj early on.
Kagiso Rabada provided a supporting hand to Verreyne, though, as South Africa crossed 300, the duo putting on a watchful stand. Verreyne hit 12 fours and three sixes on his way to an eventful hundred. He brought up the milestone in style, lifting Asitha Fernando for six.
Asitha and Lahiru Kumara ended the Proteas resistance shortly thereafter and bundled out the hosts. They each picked a wicket to finish with a tally of three and four wickets in the first innings respectively.In response, Sri Lanka’s openers – Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne – withstood a testing spell from South Africa’s pacers, adding 41 runs for the first wicket.
Though Rabada then got the better of Karunaratne, getting him caught behind for 20, Nissanka and Chandimal held the fort and helped Sri Lanka to 103/1 by the end of the second session.
