stump South Africa 358 and 191 for 3 wickets (Markram 55, Bavuma 48*, Stubbs 36*, Jayasuriya 2-75) Sri Lanka 328 (Nisanka 89, Kamindu 48, Mathews 44, Chandimal 44, Patterson 5-71, Maharaj 2-65, Johnson 2-100) by 221 runs
Sri Lanka’s first threat came through spin when Jayasuriya trapped Tony De Zorzi with a ball he was trying to drive through the gap in the bat-pad, ending a 55-run partnership for the first wicket. De Zorzi’s series ended with a disappointing total of 40 runs in four innings, which came after making 177 in Bangladesh.
His opening partner Markram fared better despite edging the second ball of Asitha Fernando. There was less chance at second slip. As his innings progressed, Markram looked confident but never completely at ease. He approached fifty when he slashed a short, wide Vishwa delivery and took it down the gully edge for four and got there with a superb cover drive that re-established his control. Importantly for him, this was his first half-century in 12 completed innings across all formats. He managed only six balls before he hit a flashing cover drive off Vishwa and was caught with one hand by a diving Kusal Mendis, whose power of anticipation was on full display.
Ryan Rickelton started as cautiously as he did in his first innings but could not continue his second century. He missed Jayasuriya’s ball which skidded and hit his middle stump and he was out for 24 runs.
Reunited after scoring a century in the second innings in Durban, Stubbs and Bavuma withstood the pressure for the next eight overs. Only 13 runs were scored. Sri Lanka reviewed Stubbs for LBW off the bowling of Asitha when Stubbs released a ball that looked to be going down leg. Ball-tracking confirmed that this was the case. Bavuma hit the first boundary off Kumara in the empty slip area, but then he pulled Jayasuriya in front of square and launched him over long-off, both times for six. As expected, Stubbs was the more adventurous partner and played his shots as the day progressed. Luck favored Stubbs in the third-last over of the day, when he attempted a reverse scoop and bottom-edged it between Mendis and first slip.
Things went South Africa’s way almost from the start when Marco Johnson broke things open with the old ball in the 10th over of the morning. He got a delivery to be kicked on the surface to the well-set Angelo Mathews, who took the gloves trying to stop it. Kyle Verreen took the catch in front of his face.
After conceding just 24 runs in the first 13 overs of the day, South Africa took the new ball as soon as it became available and were immediately rewarded. Kamindu Mendis, who was earlier dropped by De Zorzi at short leg, dismissed Johnson on the third ball when it found extra bounce. Jensen then rapped Kusal Mendis on the gloves first and could have dismissed him twice in the span of four overs.
Kusal got his first chance on the third ball, when he was unsure about leaving the ball down leg and drove the bat at it. Vereen had to dive full to his left and get the fingers on him, but it would probably be marked as a difficult question. The next opportunity was more straightforward. Kusal got a thick outside edge at first slip, but Markham dived and dropped it in front of David Bedingham at second slip. Kusal then sent a healthy edge to the right of Stubbs in the lane off Patterson, who took over from Jensen and proceeded to take the final decision.
After bowling two excellent spells on the second day, Patterson continued to find movement late and maintain tight lines, and it paid off. Dhananjay de Silva edged the first ball of his second over, where matters escalated quickly. Two balls later, Kusal released a ball that hit his head and dislocated the bails, and two balls after that, Lahiru Kumara was surprisingly caught by Jansen’s left hand at gully. Sri Lanka went from 297 for 5 to 298 for 8 with South Africa 60 runs ahead.
Jayasuriya maintained that lead with three fours and dragged the innings into the second session, where Paterson remained in search of five wickets. When he hit Jayasuriya full on the pads he thought he had it and convinced Bavuma to seek a review, but ball-tracking returned the umpire’s call at leg stump.
Patterson got regulation out in his next over when Vishwa Fernando dismissed him off the bowling of Varenne. An excited Patterson celebrated the birth of her newborn baby. Five balls later, Jayasuriya was caught far out of his crease on a ball tossed by Maharaj and was stumped. Sri Lanka’s innings ended 25 minutes into the second session, with South Africa leading by 30 runs.
Firdoz Munda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa and women’s cricket correspondent
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