On day four of the second Test at St George’s Park, South Africa left Sri Lanka struggling at 205-5, chasing a target of 348. Dane Paterson and Keshav Maharaj each claimed two wickets. Kagiso Rabada initiated the Sri Lankan downfall by dismissing opener Dimuth Karunaratne early in the innings.
Sri Lanka’s counterattack was led by Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis, who formed an unbeaten 83-run partnership.
Both batsmen remained not out on 39, ensuring the match extended to a fifth day. However, South Africa remained favourites to win the series 2-0.
De Silva and Mendis are the last recognized batsmen. The highest successful run chase at St George’s Park is 271, achieved by Australia 27 years ago.
Dimuth Karunaratne’s struggles continued, with scores of 2, 4, 20, and 1 in the series. He was dismissed by Rabada in all four innings.
Rabada and Paterson’s tactics created uncertainty for the Sri Lankan batsmen. While there were some loose deliveries, the batsmen needed resilience.
Pathum Nissanka, the other opener, edged a Paterson delivery to the wicketkeeper before tea, scoring 18.
Shortly after tea, Paterson dismissed Dinesh Chandimal, who was also playing defensively. Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis attempted a recovery from 64-3. However, both fell to Maharaj.
Mathews was bowled attempting a big shot for 32. Kamindu Mendis edged behind to Kyle Verreynne for 35.
De Silva and Kusal Mendis then combined. They solidified their partnership and played more freely as the ball aged and the bowlers tired.
South Africa’s target of 348 appeared imposing, especially after their second innings concluded just after lunch at 317. A total of 400 had seemed likely at one stage.
Temba Bavuma, resuming on 48, reached his fourth consecutive fifty in the morning’s first over. Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs built a composed 100-run partnership. However, Stubbs was run out attempting a risky second run, departing for 47.
Bavuma and David Bedingham faced a barrage of short-pitched deliveries before falling to Prabath Jayasuriya. Bavuma top-scored for South Africa with 66 off 116 balls. His scores of 70, 113, and 78 in the series made him the highest run-scorer by a considerable margin, almost 130 runs ahead of Stubbs.
Two more wickets fell before the new ball became available. Jayasuriya claimed his tenth five-wicket haul, his first outside Sri Lanka, finishing with 5-129.
South Africa, at 191-3 overnight with a 211-run lead, slipped to 282-8 and a lead of 312 by lunch.
In a dramatic four-over spell after lunch, Rabada, Paterson, and Maharaj added a further 35 runs before the innings ended at 317.
