Sri Lanka declared with a lead of 489 before tea on day three of the second Test in Colombo.
After taking their lead to 451 at lunch on day three, the hosts maintained their dominance in the second session.
It was the building of partnerships that drowned the Proteas, coupled with their inability to take wickets. After a 63-run partnership between Dimuth Karunaratne (61) and Angelo Mathews was ended by Lungi Ngidi before lunch, Sri Lanka continued to drain the Proteas through Mathews and Roshen Silva.
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The pair contributed their side’s third 50-plus partnership of the innings and strung together 64 runs before Mathews was dismissed with his score on 71. Mathews nudged a stock Keshav Maharaj delivery to Faf du Plessis at first slip, and the Proteas skipper lunged to his right to hold the catch.
Maharaj was the Proteas’ top performer, finishing with 12 wickets for the match, having taken 9-129 and 3-154. In so doing, he became the seventh South African to take 12 wickets in a Test match, with Hugh Tayfield having done so twice in the 1950s.
Sri Lanka declared with a lead of 489, leaving the Proteas with a session and a half to survive today if they hope to mount a serious bid to chase down their mammoth 490-run target.
Sri Lanka (second innings) 275-5d – Dimuth Karunaratne 85, Danushka Gunathilaka 61, Angelo Mathews 71, Keshav Maharaj 3-154, Lungi Ngidi 1-9
Sri Lanka lead by 489 runs
Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo
