South Africa 398/8 at lunch
Quinton de Kock 17 not out
Wayne Parnell 12 not out
Johannesburg - South Africa laboured to 398 for eight adding 60 runs to the overnight total and losing a flurry of wickets during the morning session of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers.
Quinton de Kock (17 not out) and Wayne Parnell undefeated on 12 were left to keep South Africa’s crumbling innings together after Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Pradeep wreaked havoc with the ball in hand.
Pradeep finished the morning session as his team’s most potent weapon taking four for one in three overs.
Sri Lanka’s Suranga Lakmal terrorised the South African batting line-up and can feel a bit hard done that he did not have any wickets to show for his effort.
To highlight South Africa’s struggles at the crease, the team lost five wickets for 32 runs in 12 overs before lunch.
Angelo Mathews made an early breakthrough claiming the scalp of nightwatchman and debutant Duanne Olivier (3) who survived 24 deliveries.
Lakmal was left frustrated after he induced an outside edge from Du Plessis with one run to his name, only to see Kusal Mendis drop the ball at second slip.
Du Plessis (16) was eventually sent packing when an on fire Pradeep claimed his first of four victims with Mendis this time managing to hold on to the ball.
While Lakmal was doing all the hard work on the one end, Pradeep reaped the benefits at the other as he sent batsman after batsman back to the dressing room.
Next man in, Temba Bavuma only faced two deliveries before he Pradeep struck again to depart without a run to his name.
Three overs later Hashim Amla’s fantastic innings of 134 (265b, 16x4) came to and end edging a Pradeep delivery to the wicketkeeper.
The day before Amla became only the eighth player to score a hundred in his 100th Test reaching his 26th century of his illustrious career.
Pradeep left South Africa battered and bruised removing Vernon Vernon (0) with his delivery leaping up clipping the batsman’s glove with keeper Dinesh Chandimal taking the catch.
De Kock and Parnell managed to stop the bleeding as they saw out the five overs to lunch while adding 20 runs to the scoreboard.