Sri Lanka facing a mountain in second Test

Rex Clementine
in Port Elizabeth

Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa this year feels like a Shakespearean tragedy – full of promise but undone by self-inflicted wounds. The team’s batting has been about as reliable as a chocolate teapot, and their hopes of reaching the World Test Championship final are slipping through their fingers like sand in an hourglass.

In the second Test, Sri Lanka had South Africa on the ropes. A first-innings lead of over 100 runs seemed all but certain as they headed into the third day. But instead of tightening the screws, they pressed the self-destruct button with a series of reckless shots, the worst offender being Dhananjaya de Silva, who earned the ire of fans and teammates alike.

Sri Lanka’s skipper, the right-handed version of David Gower, often mesmerizes with his elegance at the crease. He makes batting look as effortless as slicing through butter with a hot knife. But, like Gower, he has an uncanny knack for gifting his wicket away when least expected. He did it in Durban, and he repeated the trick in Port Elizabeth on day three.

With the new ball taken, Sri Lanka’s priority was to weather the storm and see off the first hour. But at the end of an over, Dhananjaya signaled for his bat to be taped. Enter the substitutes, bearing three shiny new Stanford blades. Yet, instead of swapping bats, he decided to tape it up, prompting the umpires to hustle him along.

What followed was pure comedy – or tragedy, depending on your allegiance. Off the very next ball, a wide delivery from Dane Paterson, Dhananjaya swung with all the subtlety of a bull in a China shop and was promptly caught in the slips. It was a lapse in concentration. To add insult to injury, his dismissal triggered a domino effect, with two more wickets falling in the same over. Cricket, as they say, is a funny old game.

From dreams of a healthy lead, Sri Lanka found themselves 30 runs adrift at the end of the first innings.

Despite the batting implosion, Sri Lanka’s bowlers deserve a standing ovation. They bowled with heart, running in tirelessly to make life miserable for the Proteas. Prabath Jayasuriya, the quiet assassin, bagged a five-wicket haul—the tenth of his career but his first away from home. His exuberant celebrations seemed to shout, “Who says I can’t do it overseas?”

Meanwhile, Lahiru Kumara was breathing fire. Not only did he add wickets to his tally, but he also rattled South African batters—literally. In one over, he hit both Kagiso Rabada and Dane Paterson on the helmet, serving up a spicy dose of their own medicine.

Chasing 348 runs to win, Sri Lanka reached tea on day four at 60 for two, with veterans Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal holding the fort. While no team has ever chased such a target in South Africa, cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. For now, Sri Lanka’s immediate goal will be to drag the contest into the fifth day before daring to dream of an upset.

The team’s resilience on this tour has been admirable – they’ve fought tooth and nail even when backed into corners. Yet, their Achilles’ heel has been batter’s inability to sustain pressure over extended periods.

Dhananjaya’s dismissal in the first innings was symptomatic of Sri Lanka’s woes. Pathum Nissanka, too, is guilty of squandering opportunities. Only five Sri Lankans have ever scored centuries in South Africa – a testament to how tough batting conditions are here. Pathum, having done the hard yards to reach 89, inexplicably charged down the track to Keshav Maharaj and perished, throwing away what could have been a landmark knock.

The openers had shown grit in the first innings, putting on 41 runs for the first wicket while seeing off 16 overs. That effort laid a solid foundation for the middle order. But in the second innings, the script unraveled.

Dimuth Karunaratne’s miserable run continued as Kagiso Rabada dismissed him yet again. In 2024, Dimuth’s willow has been quieter than a library at midnight – 19 Test innings, just five half-centuries and no hundreds. Pathum Nissanka followed suit soon after for a meager 18, leaving the team wobbling.