Seamer Dane Paterson took a career-best 5-71 and Temba Bavuma was unbeaten on 48 as South Africa closed the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at 191 for three in its second innings on Saturday, a lead of 221 runs at St George’s Park. South African cricketer Dane Paterson has taken his first five-wicket haul in test cricket, achieving a career milestone.
South Africa’s strong performance came on the back of Dane Paterson’s first Test five-for and Aiden Markram half-century, which set up their second innings.
Dane Paterson stole the spotlight for South Africa on Day 3, claiming his first-ever five-wicket haul in Test cricket to bowl Sri Lanka out for 328. With a narrow 30-run advantage, the South African batters piled on the pressure. Aiden Markram led the charge with a solid half-century (55), while Tristan Stubbs (36*) and Temba Bavuma (48*) kept the momentum going. By the end of the day, the Proteas had built a commanding 221-run lead with seven wickets remaining.
Day 3 : Morning Session : Dane Paterson, Jansen helps South Africa fight back
South Africa clawed back into the Test match in Gqeberha with a productive opening session on the third day that saw them pick five wickets. By lunch, Sri Lanka still trail by 40 runs with only two wickets in hand.
At the start of play on Day 3, Sri Lanka stood at 242/3, trailing South Africa by 118 runs, with two well-set batsmen at the crease. Angelo Mathews (40*)* and Kamindu Mendis (30) resumed their efforts, determined to narrow South Africa’s lead and establish a strong first-innings total.
After a couple of maiden overs to begin with, Kamindu Mendis got Sri Lanka going with a boundary. Apart from that, South Africa managed to keep things fairly tight. With just four overs remaining for the second new ball, Sri Lanka would have loved to have both Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis batting out in the middle but the veteran was surprised by a delivery that bounced a bit extra and gloved one behind to depart for a fighting 44.
The duo helped Sri Lanka pass the 250 mark, but both were dismissed by Marco Jansen in quick succession, falling just short of their respective half-centuries. Just as captain Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis started to settle in, Sri Lanka fell from 297-5 to 298-8 courtesy of Paterson picking three wickets in one over.
If that wicket didn’t hurt the visitors enough, Marco Jansen struck again, this time with the brand new cherry. It took the left-arm pacer just three balls to strike after the hosts took the new ball as extra bounce accounted for the big wicket of Kusal Mendis. With both overnight batters gone in the first hour, Sri Lanka had a massive task ahead of them.
Kusal Mendis looked very jittery and was even handed a reprieve by Aiden Markram in the slip cordon. But Sri Lanka managed to add a little partnership to edge towards the 300-run mark which is when a single over from Dane Paterson turned the game around completely. The 35-year-old, playing just his sixth Test match, produced a terrific three-wicket over to stun the visitors.
Dhananjaya de Silva poked one to get caught at second slip and Kusal Mendis then left a nip-backer that saw his stumps get shattered. Bagging the wickets of the last two recognized batters, Dane Paterson went one step ahead and picked a third wicket in the over when Lahiru Kumara found Jansen at gully. Dane
Paterson’s second over of the day turned out to be the game-changer as he sent Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, and Lahiru Kumara back to the pavilion. This triple blow saw Sri Lanka slipping from a comfortable 297/5 to a dangerous 298/8. Prabhat Jayasuriya did hit back-to-back boundaries as Sri Lanka went past 300 but South Africa would back themselves to fetch a slender first-innings lead.
Prabhat Jayasuriya and Vishwa Fernando managed to take Sri Lanka’s total over 300 in the 91st over. After the quick fall of wickets, the pair managed to steady the ship as Sri Lanka went into lunch 318-8 with South Africa’s lead being 40 runs.
Day 3 : Post Lunch Session : Dane Paterson fifer, Aiden Markram’s steady start help SA regain control
After lunch, Sri Lanka managed to add just 10 runs before being bowled out for 328, falling 30 runs short of South Africa’s total. Dane Paterson recorded his first-ever Test five-wicket haul, helping the hosts to a slender lead. South Africa bagged another session in the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka to regain control. A productive morning session that saw them pick five wickets helped South Africa claw back into the contest. And then they followed that up with another solid session that has stretched their lead beyond 100.
The session kickstarted with Prabhat Jayasuriya adding to his boundary collection in streaky fashion. However, it was at the other end where South Africa made a breakthrough as 35-year-old Dane Paterson managed to pick up his first-ever five-fer in Test cricket, with Vishwa Fernando poking one behind. On expected lines, South Africa got the job done pretty quickly with Keshav Maharaj dismissing Jayasuriya in the following over to eke out a 30-run lead.
The Proteas openers looked solid, with Tony de Zorzi and Aiden Markram sharing a 55-run partnership. De Zorzi was eventually bowled by Jayasuriya but Aiden Markram and first-innings centurion Ryan Rickelton settled in as the ball began to reverse swing.
The home side then made a positive start in their second essay with Aiden Markram kickstarting things with a boundary in the second over. Runs were flowing quite freely for South Africa against the new ball as they raced to 26 in just five overs. After surviving the first spell against the new ball, the South African openers continued in the same vein post the drinks break as well.
Tony de Zorzi glanced one down to fine leg off Asitha Fernando whereas Markram punched the same bowler down the ground for another boundary that brought up the half-century opening stand. There was some respite finally for Sri Lanka as Jayasuriya got one delivery to spin in sharply to beat de Zorzi’s defence and crash into the stumps.
Ryan Rickelton then got off to a decent start with a couple of boundaries before the Tea break and with the hosts still having nine wickets in hand, Sri Lanka need a massive final session in their favour to pull things back again By Tea, South Africa extended their lead to 106 runs, losing just one wicket in their second innings.
Day 3 : Afternoon Session : South Africa builds 221-run lead to take dominant position in Gqeberha
A productive day with both bat and ball has put South Africa in a dominant position in the second Test against Sri Lanka. After allowing the visitors to fight back on Day 2, South Africa pulled things back this morning with a five-wicket session which was then backed up with two more excellent sessions that has seen them go into stumps with a lead of 221 runs.
With the match reduced almost to a second-innings shootout, South Africa had to begin well. And they did exactly that as the openers blunted the new ball and managed to score vital runs as well. Aiden Markram played some delightful strokes and Tony de Zorzi played the ideal foil at the other end. Against the run of play, Asitha Fernando dismissed the left-hander to end the opening stand but South Africa kept coasting.
Successive boundaries from Markram brought up his fifty but just when it looked like he would cash in for a big one, he chased a wide delivery only to get a thick edge. He was visibly frustrated on his way back to the pavilion and Sri Lanka found an opening to break into that middle order when Prabhat Jayasuriya trapped Ryan Rickelton with the lead still at 139.
Markram brought up his half-century early in the final session but was dismissed after a brilliant one-handed catch by Kusal Mendis. Prabhat Jayasuriya followed up by removing the other set batter, Rickelton, as South Africa lost two quick wickets.
Just when Sri Lanka sensed an opening, Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs joined forces, solidifying the innings with an unbroken 82-run partnership. The pair guided the Proteas safely to stumps, leaving them unscathed for the remainder of the day.
A couple of more wickets at that point in time would have brought Sri Lanka back into the contest straightaway. However, Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs were at it again, just like they were in the first Test. They saw off a probing spell from Asitha Fernando and Jayasuriya and it was only after the drinks break the duo managed to take control again.
Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs shared an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 82 and South Africa pulled away from Sri Lanka on the third day at St George’s Park. They extended their lead to 221 after taking a slim 30-run advantage from the first innings, having bowling Sri Lanka out for 328 earlier in the day.
Both batters were content rotating the strike and the odd boundary, including a couple of sixes for Bavuma, were available as well. Their patient partnership guided the lead beyond 200 and South Africa would now fancy themselves to go for the kill on the fourth day.
Day 4 : Road Ahead for South Africa and Sri Lanka
An incredible day for South Africa which sees them in the driver’s seat. They were slightly behind when the day started but have come roaring back to take the initiative. It all started with Jansen getting rid of the two overnight batters – Mathews and Kamindu – either side of the second new ball. Dane Paterson then rose to the occasion and ran through the lower order, registering his maiden Test 5-fer in the process. South Africa’s openers got them off to a solid start by adding a 50+ stand.
In six Tests, Dane Paterson now owns 17 scalps from 10 innings. He averages 29.82 with the ball. His previous best spell was 3/39. As per ESPNCricinfo, Dane Paterson has surpassed 600 wickets in First-Class cricket (601). He claimed his 23rd five-wicket haul in FC cricket.
Prabath Jayasuriya broke that partnership and picked up first innings centurion Rickelton as the ball started to spin from the rough. However, fifty from Markram and an unbeaten 82-run stand between Stubbs and Bavuma has taken South Africa’s lead to 221.
South Africa’s strong performance came on the back of Dane Paterson’s first Test five-for and Aiden Markram half-century, which set up their second innings. Bavuma is two runs away from a fourth successive fifty-plus score in the series, in which he has already collected more than 300 runs. Despite not playing any competitive cricket for two months before this series as he recovered from an elbow injury, Bavuma is seeing the ball better than anyone else and has added a more aggressive style to his strokeplay.
Ten wickets fell on the third day – the most in the Test so far – but conditions were still well suited to batting under blue skies. Sri Lanka’s seam attack still found some movement and there was also a hint of turn for Prabath Jayasuriya, which will likely please South Africa more than their visitors.
With the surface expected to start deteriorating in dry conditions from day four, Keshav Maharaj could come into play later on. Before that, Sri Lanka will look for seven wickets with the knowledge that the highest successful chase at this ground is 271, and that South Africa are 50 runs away from that mark. But they will take heart from the glimpses of spin, especially as it has already brought some success.
The pitch has started to play some tricks and chasing anything above 250 won’t be easy. Sri Lanka need a special effort from both their bowlers and batters if they are to level the series. The result of this game will be pivotal for both teams as they race to secure a spot in the World Test Championship Final.