“It requires a lot of patience, especially as the ball gets older and softer. The wicket becomes a bit more settled, but if I’m honest we searched a bit,” Maharaj said in the post-game press conference. , “Hopefully tomorrow we can get back to old-fashioned Test cricket like we did when we took seven wickets in the morning.”
Maharaj was reflecting on the third day’s play where South Africa reduced Sri Lanka to 7 wickets for 67 runs and conceded a 30-run lead in the first innings. Then, Marco Jansen got good bounce and Dane Paterson bowled an excellent and accurate spell where he got late movement with the second new ball. This time, South Africa will have to wait another 28 overs before the second new ball arrives and they will have to enforce their discipline for a longer period of time, especially against batsmen who are set.
The partnership between Kusal and Dhanjaya has reached 83 runs, with each remaining unbeaten on 39 runs. While their growing comfort at the crease may be cause for some concern, South Africa know they are basically one wicket away and if they get there, the rest can be sorted. “Traditionally, wickets happen in clusters. There may come a time when the game is going nowhere and then suddenly, basically, one wicket is needed to be the catalyst,” Maharaj said. “It’s about staying patient and hopefully reaping the rewards of some hard efforts tomorrow morning.”
South Africa have already learned two lessons of patience – one when Sri Lanka scored 242 for three at night and then were all out for 328 on the third day and the other on the fourth day. Sri Lanka looked comfortable at 117 for 3, helped by the partnership between Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis, when Maharaj struck a crucial double-strike, finishing on 53. He dismissed Mathews and then Kamindu in consecutive overs and bowled according to a plan that worked.
With Mathews on, South Africa wanted to “encourage a shot” as they believed they had enough runs on the board so Maharaj gave it extra flight, and Mathews tried to hit him over midwicket and Became bold. “It was a big wicket. Obviously that caused Kamindu’s wicket to fall a few overs later.”
Once Mathews was removed, South Africa tried to do something different against Kamindu. “It didn’t seem like he wanted me to settle into a rough situation, so [I thought] Maharaj said, “Let me come around the wicket and keep it on the crease,” and it paid off immediately. The effort I put in got results on the very first ball.”
Kamindu tried to loft the ball, which spun down the leg side and Kyle Verreynne took a comfortable one-handed catch. The king pointed towards Bavuma in celebration, an acknowledgment of how his homework was earning him full marks.
At that time, South Africa had Sri Lanka at 122 for 5 and might have expected to win. They tried some things because they felt they had “earned the right to explore to some extent, but maybe not for as long as we did”, as Maharaj said. Maharaj held his own till the last over of the session and continued to experiment with his length in an attempt to find another breakthrough. At the other end, South Africa rotated through the seamers and although both Kagiso Rabada and Patterson got some movement, Sri Lanka were cautious with the venture and took the day.
Maharaj said, “We acknowledge the bigger picture of everything, but it’s about a process. The boys are very comfortable just focusing on the present and not the future.”
Firdoz Munda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa and women’s cricket correspondent
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