Philander's burst hands South Africa advantage
by Cricbuzz Staff •
Last updated on Tue, 27 Dec, 2016, 10:20 PM
Philander bowled testing spells through the course of the day and bagged three wickets
AFPDhananjaya de Silva (43 not out) counter-attacked in the final session to keep Sri Lanka afloat as they ended Day 2 of the first Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth at 181 for 7, still trailing by 105 runs, on Tuesday (December 27). For South Africa, Vernon Philander bagged three wickets and Kyle Abbott took two. With 22 overs still left in the day's play, umpires deemed the light wasn't good enough to continue. As the natural light didn't improve sufficiently, play was eventually called off.
De Silva, who walked out to the middle at the fall of Angelo Mathews's wicket, unfurled a series of shots to chip away at the lead. He especially took a liking to Keshav Maharaj's bowling by lofting the left-arm spinner for a slew of boundaries.
The 25-year-old also received support from Rangana Herath (24) as the duo shared a 36-run stand for the seventh wicket to take Sri Lanka to a score of some respectability. At the fag end of the session, Maharaj dislodged Herath to leave Sri Lanka seven down.
However, for most part of the day, it was about Philander putting up a masterful show with the ball in hand. He seemed to visualise at the top of his mark where he would pitch the ball and more often than not, executed it with precision. He was rewarded with the wickets of Kusal Perera (7), Dinesh Chandimal (28) and Kaushal Silva (16). The way Philander set up Kaushal by bowling a slew of away-going deliveries before nipping one back to trap him in front encapsulates his ability to out-think the batsman.
He was also involved in an absorbing battle with the Sri Lankan captain Mathews (39). The wily seamer beat Mathews on numerous occasions and a few of the edges didn't carry to the slip cordon. However, Mathews showed the required aptitude and resolve to overcome the testing spell. Unfortunately, from Sri Lanka's point of view, he soon fell to Kagiso Rabada.
Philander also was backed up by Abbott who blended nagging control with perseverance to snare the scalps of Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis. Barring a couple of tough chances dropped by Quinton de Kock and Maharaj, hosts put up a fine all-round show in the field. The only area of concern was the review part. In the first session, South Africa took a review against Mathews for caught behind when the ball was a few inches away from the edge of the bat. Even in the post-Lunch session, they wasted review for an LBW against Mathews.
It certainly turned out to be a day of fluctuating fortunes as the visitors had bundled out South Africa for a modest score of 286 in the morning session. Suranga Lakmal was the star performer for Sri Lanka as he bagged his maiden fiver-for. The hosts, who resumed on their overnight total of 267 for 6, could only add another 19 runs.
By whittling away at the opposition ranks, South Africa kept their noses in front at close of play. On the other hand, the visitors need Dhananjaya to stitch useful partnerships with the lower-order batsmen to have any chance of staying in the hunt.
Brief Scores: South Africa 286 all out (JP Duminy 63, Stephen Cook 59; Suranga Lakmal 5-63) lead Sri Lanka 181/7 (Dhananjaya de Silva 43*, Angelo Mathews 39; Vernon Philander 3-35, Kyle Abbott 2-49) by 105 runs.
