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Steyn the destroyer but test still in the balance
Thirteen wickets fell on a see-sawing second day of the first test as South Africa just about edged the battle for control over Sri Lanka at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday.
While South Africa finished the day reasonably satisfied with an overall lead of 170 runs, the Sri Lankans chipped away at their batting line-up in the second innings, removing their top four batsmen fairly cheaply. The hosts eventually finished the day on 126/4 with their last two specialist batsmen, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock, at the crease.
It took Steyn's career total to 437 test wickets, moving him past India's Kapil Dev (434) and drawing level with Stuart Broad of England in joint seventh place on the all-time list.
"It's just a blessing to be able to be playing again," he said.
[embed:video:id=1043314]"I almost feel like I've had to start over. I don't feel I'm on 430-odd wickets, I'm on probably twenty. It's nice to finish a test series against Pakistan and not have someone saying he's an injury away from retiring and it's nice to contribute again. Hopefully it can continue a bit longer."
Steyn bowled a ten-over spell after lunch in an effort to blow away Sri Lanka's tail, which he said he believed was only the third time in a 92-test career he had bowled so many overs in succession.
"When I'm bowling ten-over spells it shows I'm enjoying what I do," he said.
MOST OF THE EARLY MOMENTUM
It was the Proteas who enjoyed most of the early momentum when they dismissed Sri Lanka for 191 in the first two sessions after the visitors had started the day on 49 for one. Dale Steyn was the wrecker in chief with 4-48 while fellow pacemen Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada grabbed a brace apiece.
To a degree, however, the Sri Lankans were the authors of their own disappointing performance, with few of their batsmen prepared to knuckle down and grind out an innings on a good pitch that offered some assistance to the pace bowlers but also favoured batsmen who were prepared to graft.
The Proteas had a good morning, grabbing five wickets and sending the Sri Lankans into lunch on a wobbly 133 for six. Only skipper and opener Dimuth Karunaratne, who looked mentally and technically sound, seemed to have the patience and technique to play a conventional test innings, with the middle-order batsmen more inclined to play flamboyant shots at inopportune moments.
Sri Lankan debutant Oshad Fernando was the first wicket to fall in the session, leg before to Dale Steyn although TV replays showed the ball missing the leg stump. Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, neither batsmen chose to refer Aleem Dar’s decision.
Philander then captured his second wicket of the innings, the key scalp of Karunaratne, given out leg before by Richard Kettleborough, a correct albeit marginal decision.
Neither Kusal Mendis nor Niroshan Dickwella looked likely to stay for long and Philander soon squared up the former who was held at slip by Du Plessis, while Dickwella, trying to glance Duanne Olivier, top-edged the ball to Steyn at third man.
BIGGEST PARTNERSHIP
Kusal Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva featured in the biggest partnership of the innings (43), but the way it ended gave an indication of the Sri Lankans’ somewhat reckless approach. De Silva had top-edged a Rabada bouncer for six over fine leg before trying to repeat the stroke, this time sending a swirling catch to Duanne Olivier at long leg.
Suranga Lakmal didn’t last long in the afternoon, tamely prodding Steyn to Aiden Markram at short extra-cover. He was quickly followed by Kusal Perera who had slammed an aggressive, albeit fortuitous 51 in 63 balls (7x4s, 1x6) before trying one shot too many to hole out to substitute fielder Zubayr Hamza at deep extra cover, again off Steyn.
The rot was temporarily stopped, however, by Lasith Embuldeniya and Kasun Rajitha, who braved plenty of short-pitched bowling from both ends to add 32 in 66 balls for the ninth wicket before a brilliant piece of fielding from Markram, who threw down the wicket from short leg, led to Rajitha being run out.
The final wicket was that of Embuldeniya who mistimed a drive to Steyn at wide mid-off off the bowling of Rabada.
Steyn paid tribute to Embuldeniya, 22, who battled to 24 off 63 balls.
"He took a couple on the head but he never backed away or had a slog. He gutsed it out."
Perera said he felt Sri Lanka were still in the game but added: "We have to get them out quickly."
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Asked about his attacking approach, he said: "It's my only game plan. Their bowlers are in the top ranks in the world and if they’re attacking I'm trying to counter-attack."
Perera said that although the pitch was slow, there was seam movement to help the bowlers.
The expectation was that the South Africans would bat better in their second innings after a rather flakey first effort, but they continued to give their opponents cheap wickets.
Markram moved quickly to 28 before fencing flat-footedly at Kasun Rajitha to offer a catch to second slip, while Hashim Amla continued his poor run of scores at Kingsmead when he slashed Vishwara Fernando to Lahiru Thirimanne in the gully.
Temba Bavuma then missed his sweep against a straight delivery from left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya and shouldn’t have (fruitlessly) referred the leg before verdict before Dean Elgar drove an Embuldeniya half-volley firmly back to the bowler who hung on to take a sharp catch.
Du Plessis (25) and De Kock (15) had one or two scares but they batted fluently enough through to the close as play finished at 5.30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2) in golden sunshine, albeit with a full nine overs unbowled.
Report Day 1SOUTH AFRICA: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Duanne Olivier
SRI LANKA: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne, Oshada Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lasith Embuldeniya
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