Sri Lanka first innings 157 all out
South Africa first innings - at lunch, day 2 - 256/5 (Elgar 127, Van der Dussen 67; Shanaka 2/42)
South Africa lead by 99 runs with five wickets in hand
JOHANNESBURG - As is usually the case, Murphy’s Law and the noted coincidence, when one falls, the other follows shortly after.
That was the case this morning at the Wanderers on the second day of the second Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka when Dean Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen, and then Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock, all lost their wickets within quick succession.
The overnight pairing of Elgar and Van der Dussen first completed individual milestones, however, before capitulating. Elgar reached his 13th Test century, slapping a short and wide delivery through the covers to complete his ton, while Van der Dussen compiled a fourth Test 50 off 97 balls moments later.
👏 TON UP FOR ELGAR
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 4, 2021
Dean Elgar gets his 13th career Test 100#SAvSL #BetwayTest #SeeMeOnThePitch pic.twitter.com/ds8j4cewGW
The pair added 70 runs to the overnight total before Elgar edged a delivery off of Dushmantha Chameera in the 52nd over – the one just after the drinks break - which was smartly caught by Lahiru Thirimanne.
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An over later, Van der Dussen fell to a Sri Lankan review when it was revealed that his glove clipped a leg-side delivery by Dusan Shanaka.
It brought to an end their 218 runs partnership, and also precipitated a mini-collapse before the lunch break as both Faf du Plessis – through a lovely ball from Shanaka which forced him into playing a shot - and captain Quinton de Kock, caught brilliantly by Kusal Mendis in the slips off of Asitha Fernando, found themselves back in the shed before noon.
After a less-than-stellar first hour, the Sri Lankans found their rhythm, taking 4/23 in that period of play.
ALSO READ: Second Test, Day 1: Plays of the Day
It left the Proteas reeling – if that is a fair description – on 241/5 and with the Highveld Lions duo of Temba Bavuma and Wiaan Mulder at the crease, who ensured that no further damage could be done in the 20 or so minutes that they took guard against a reinvigorated Sri Lankan attack.
🍽️ DAY 2 | LUNCH
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) January 4, 2021
Temba Bavuma (7*) and Wiaan Mulder (7*) have taken the team to lunch after 4 wickets fell quickly
🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 South Africa 256/5 after 63 overs
📺 Watch the match on SuperSport 212 and SABC 3
📝 Ball by Ball https://t.co/AvpgI8DZYo#SAvSL #BetwayTest #SeeUsOnThePitch pic.twitter.com/0p8xwi9YQk
Mulder ended the session with a beautiful front foot drive to punctuate an intriguing morning session that fell slightly in the favour of the islanders.
@IOLsport