Late strikes by Akila Dananjaya, Dilruwan Perera and Rangana Herath put Sri Lanka in a winning position as South Africa got to 139/5, chasing 490 for victory, on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Theunis de Bruyn (45*) and Temba Bavuma (14*) held firm for the visitors as they looked to stave off a likely defeat and try to chase down a target that is still 351 runs away. This was after Sri Lanka declared their second innings on 275/5, having bowled South Africa out for 124 in response to their 338.
Sri Lanka began the day on 151/3 in the second innings with a lead of 365 runs. Overnight batsmen Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews added 48 runs to the total before Lungi Ngidi had Karunaratne caught behind for 85 to end the series for the Sri Lankan opening bat, who has notched up 356 runs across four innings at an average of 118.66. The duo also stretched Sri Lanka’s lead past the 400-run mark.
Roshen Silva walked in at 199/4 and combined with Mathews to pile more misery on South Africa, as they added 64 runs for the fifth wicket. With Silva for company, Mathews brought up his half-century off 86 balls with six fours. The duo took Sri Lanka to lunch at 237/4.
While a declaration looked imminent at the break, with South Africa 451 runs behind, Sri Lanka captain Suranga Lakmal decided to bat a little more and declared moments after Mathews was dismissed, setting South Africa an improbable 490 runs for win. Silva remained unbeaten on 32 with Niroshan Dickwella on 7.
Keshav Maharaj, who picked up a record nine wickets in the first innings, got three wickets in the second to finish with 12 for the match. Ngidi returned with one wicket to his name, while Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn went wicketless.
Perera removed Elgar soon after tea and Herath came back to bowl Hashim Amla to reduce South Africa to 100/3. Those two wickets brought about two more as South Africa lost the plot in the dying moments of the day, losing their captain Faf du Plessis (7) and nightwatchman Maharaj (0) to Dananjaya off back-to-back deliveries.
The visitors have only five wickets in hand and there are two days left to be negotiated. Sri Lanka will look to take the remaining five South African wickets and wrap up the game early on day four.
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