By Brian Thomas
The few fans who turned up at Durban this morning were greeted with rain clouds and breeze , however, play got underway on schedule at 1 pm IST.
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bowl first with a combination of 3 seamers and a specialist spinning option with 7 top order batters.
Aiden Markram fell victim to a 4th stump good length delivery bowled by Asitha Fernando caught by Mathews at first slip with the South Africans on 14 runs. Markram was out for 9 , followed by his fellow opener Tony Smith playing tentatively when Kamindu Mendis took a brilliant catch off Vishwa Fernando at second slip with both openers back in the pavilion for adition to the first wicket score of 14.
Sri Lankan seamers , the 2 Fernando’ s and Lahiru Kumara bowled excellent line and length, it fact it was excellent display of seam bowling.
Tiston Stubs , batting at number 3, cartered Lahiru Kumara for three boundaries in his first over , but the speed merchant had the last laugh when he hung his bat at a short length delivery from Lahiru Kumara, to be caught by Dimuth Karunaratne in the slip cordon , falling as the first victim of Lahiru Kumara for 16 runs , with the Protease on 46.
David Bedingham saw his off stump cartwheel off a Lahiru Kumara fast delivery , guilty of not getting his bat down on time with South Africa struggling 54 for the loss of 4 wickets.
Temba Bavman, the South African skipper, was lucky to survive a life when he edged a Lahiru Kumara outswinger as Karunaratne dropped him in the slip cordon.
When lunch was taken, South Africa was 80 runs for 4 wickets with Bavman batting on 28 and Kyla Varrenine on 9.
The lunch break brought down showers of blessings from a South African perspective with 80 runs for 4 wickets a difficult first session against quality seam.
Day one ended with Asitha Fernando scalping one wicket for 22 runs in 8 overs , Vishwa Fernando 1 for 17 in 7 overs , whilst Lahiru Kumara 2 scalps for 35 runs in his 6 over spell.
Play gets underway at 1 pm tomorrow, Sri Lanka time will the protease turn things around ?
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