SRI LANKA FACING DEFEAT DESPITE BRAVE FIGHTBACK

At the close of the second day, the tourists were 184 for three in their second innings, having followed on 259 in arrears. Kumar Sangakkara and Russel Arnold had kept South Africa at bay through much of the last session with a stand that realised 113 for Sri Lanka, but it was finally broken eight overs before stumps to give a tiring home team an important boost.

When play ended, Sangakkara was unbeaten on 64 with Aravinda de Silva not out on 21.

Sri Lanka had been 26 for one at tea and the second wicket fell at 43 when Mahela Jayawardene, on 23, drove at a wide one from Jacques Kallis and Boeta Dippenaar took a low catch in the gully.

Another Sri Lankan collapse seemed likely, but Sangakkara and Arnold played with courage and enterprise to carry the attack to the South Africans.

They were helped by the fact that Allan Donald, South Africa’s leading strike bowler, was well out of sorts on the day. He did not take the new ball at the start of the innings and when he did come on, Arnold took four fours of him in two overs that cost the South Africans 21.

The Sri Lankan pair went breezily along with the 50 partnership coming in only 32 minutes and when Arnold took a single off Makhaya Ntini to reach his 50, he had faced only 55 deliveries.

Shaun Pollock employed attacking fields for his quick bowlers, and the batsmen helped themselves to a number of boundaries in the vacant third man and midwicket areas with Arnold being fortunate to see an edge fly at catchable height between second slip and the first of two gullies when he had 55.

Sangakkara, meanwhile, moved to his 50 by dancing down the track to lift Nicky Boje for four over mid on, but he should have been out on 52 when Mark Boucher missed a stumping chance off Boje.

It was Boje, however, who finally conjured up the breakthrough when Arnold had 71. He was caught at slip by Pollock as the ball seemed to come off the back of the bat as he swept and looped gently over Boucher’s head to the South African captain.

For reasons that were not entirely clear, Sanath Jayasuriya had kept himself and De Silva back, but De Silva appeared at the fall of the third wicket on 156 with Sri Lanka still needing a further 103 to make South Africa bat again.

He and Sangakkara survived to the close without further mishap, but with three days remaining, the Sri Lankans still seem to have an impossible task facing them if they are to save this match, and the series.

DUCK FOR ATAPATTU AS SRI LANKA FOLLOW ON

After being bowled out for 119 in reply to South Africa’s 378, Sri Lanka lost their first second innings wicket when Atapattu was caught low down at first slip by Daryll Cullinan off Shaun Pollock in the fifth over of the innings.

Atapattu was out at 9 with Sri Lanka needing to score 260 in their second innings to make South Africa bat again.

Captain Sanath Jayasuriya did not open the batting in the second innings, with Kumar Sangakkara promoted and neither did Jayasuriya bat at three, Mahela Jayawardene coming in at the fall of the first wicket.

It was not clear whether Jayasuriya was ill – several of the South Africans, including manager Goolam Rajah and coach Graham Ford are understood to be suffering from a virus – or whether he was simply holding himself back.

At tea Sri Lanka were 26 for one in their second innings with Sangakkara not out on 15 and Jayawardene on 9.

SRI LANKA FOLLOW ON 259 BEHIND IN THIRD TEST

The tourists, beaten by an innings in the second Test at Newlands, collapsed against the firepower of South Africans with Makhaya Ntini helping himself to four wickets in the innings.

Sri Lanka, 54 for five at lunch, needed to score 260 in their second innings to make South Africa bat again.

Ntini, who had dismissed Mahela Jayawardene in the lunch over, snapped up a further three wickets as he continued his spell after the break. He bowled Russel Arnold with a fast leg stump yorker that flicked off the pad onto the stumps for 13 at 71 for six and then had Nuwan Zoysa caught low down at second slip by Jacques Kallis for 1 at 76 for seven.

Romesh Kaluwitharana, meanwhile, had decided that attack was the best form of defence. He had been dropped at first slip by Daryll Cullinan off Ntini on 1, a difficult chance high to the fielder’s left, but he then got stuck in to Allan Donald as the fast bowler, clearly in some distress, struggled through his ninth over.

Donald appeared to be suffering from a stomach ailment, although he did not leave the field.

Kaluwitharana then turned his attention to Ntini, hooking him for a six high over fine leg into the stand and then cutting him for four. But when he tried to repeat the stroke, he was caught at the wicket off a top edge for 32, made off 30 balls with four fours and the six.

Sri Lanka were 97 for eight before Justin Kemp claimed his first Test wicket, trapping Dilhara Fernando leg before for a duck at 98 for nine.

Pramodya Wickramasinghe managed a couple of heavy blows as he made 21 off 25 balls and Ruchira Perera managed to avoid getting himself hit as the last wicket added 21. But the innings closed when Wickramasinghe sliced Kemp high to point where Herschelle Gibbs took the catch.

Ntini finished with four for 39, Kemp took two for 19, Donald had two for 26 and Jacques Kallis one for 15. Shaun Pollock, who scored his maiden century in the South African first innings, finished wicketless.

SRI LANKA COLLAPSE ON SECOND MORNING OF THIRD TEST

A combination of poor batting and superb fielding enabled South Africa to tear through the Sri Lankan top order and at lunch the tourists were 54 for five. At the crease was Russel Arnold on 6 with Mahela Jayawardene losing his wicket in the lunch over.

The South African innings lasted only a further nine balls in the morning, with three runs being added, before Makhaya Ntini was the last man out for 10, caught at the wicket off Pramodya Wickramasinghe.

Sri Lanka needed a good start, but once again they failed to get one as both the captain and vice captain gave their wickets away. Marvan Atapattu was needlessly run out and then Sanath Jayasuriya was suckered into an obvious ploy.

Atapattu played the last ball of Allan Donald’s third over out square on the off and set off for a single, but Jayasuriya sent him back. Atapattu was slow to turn and Herschelle Gibbs’ quick throw found short leg Boeta Dippenaar up at the wicket to take off the bails.

Atapattu went for three at 6 for one before Donald struck twice in his fifth over.

Jayasuriya had taken two fours off the previous over from Shaun Pollock and then slapped Donald through the covers for another boundary before slashing at a short wide one. South Africa had a third man in place whenever Jayasuriya was on strike and Neil McKenzie barely had to move to comfortably pouch the catch.

Jayasuriya made 16 with the second wicket falling at 24 and two balls and one run later Sri Lanka were three down for 25. Donald got one to lift sharply at Kumar Sangakkara who played at it with a cross bat. The ball went down onto leg stump off a bottom edge and Sangakkara was bowled for 3.

There was still more trouble ahead for Sri Lanka before lunch. Jacques Kallis replaced Donald at the Pavilion End and in his second over he persuaded Aravinda to drive at one leaving him. The ball flew off a thick outside edge and Gibbs took a sensational catch at point, diving full length to his left to take the ball with both hands.

De Silva went for 5 and Sri Lanka were in desperate trouble at 40 for four.

The tourists suffered one more blow before lunch. Jayawardene made 17 before falling to the fifth ball of the lunch over from Makhaya Ntini. Jayawardene became another batsman to be surprised by unexpected bounce and the ball took a thin outside edge to give Mark Boucher his first catch of the innings behind the stumps.

© CricInfo

Date-stamped : 21 Jan2001 - 18:23