Sri Lanka up against the ropes as Proteas close in on series victory

While Sri Lanka are still fighting hard, South Africa will be confident of wrapping up a series win on Monday, with the tourists finding themselves up against the ropes heading into the final day of the second Test in Gqeberha.

At the close of play on Sunday, Sri Lanka had reached 205/5 in their second innings, still needing 143 runs to win the match and level the two-game series with five wickets in hand.

Set a hefty target of 348 to win, the visiting team struggled to build momentum, and while five of their batters had contributed more than 20 runs each, they battled to kick on.

When stumps were drawn, captain Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis were both on 39 not out, having shared an unbroken 83-run stand for the sixth wicket to keep their team’s hopes alive.

The Proteas attack combined well, led by seamer Dane Paterson (2/33) and spinner Keshav Maharaj (2/62), but they were frustrated by De Silva and Mendis, and they were eager to break the partnership on Monday morning.

“It’s important we come tomorrow and try to break this partnership by stringing a few maidens together here and there, and hopefully it’s enough to beat a strong Sri Lankan team,” Maharaj said after the close of play.

“We’re going to focus on old-fashioned Test cricket, just zone in on a length and try to make it as difficult as we can for the batters to score with that softer ball, and if we string a few maidens we could get a couple of wickets in the morning.”

Proteas innings

Earlier on Sunday, resuming their second innings at 191/3 in the morning session, the Proteas middle order was anchored by captain Temba Bavuma, who hit his second half-century of the match with a 66-run contribution.

Receiving some support from the rest of the line-up, Bavuma guided his team to 317 before they were bowled out shortly after lunch.

Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was the best of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, returning 5/129 after delivering 34 overs.