Ongama Gcwabe at Kingsmead Stadium
South Africa: 80/4 (Temba Bavuma 28*; Lahiru Kumara 2/35)
DURBAN: Only rain could put a stop to the Sri Lankan fast-bowling attack on day one of the first Test against the Proteas at Kingsmead on Wednesday, as South Africa found themselves four wickets down before the heavens opened on the stroke of lunch.
Heading into the encounter, the weather forecast had revealed that rain would be a factor on day one, a bit of information that saw the two teams’ brains-trusts lean to fast-bowler-heavy playing XIs.
With dark clouds hanging over Kingsmead, Sri Lanka won a potentially match-deciding toss and announced that they themselves had opted for quick Lahiru Kumara to operate alongside seamers Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando and Angelo Mathews.
Dhananjaya de Silva, the visiting captain, did not hesitate to ask the hosts to have a bat first, aiming to take full advantage of the wicket that had been under covers overnight and the moisture that was in the air in Durban.
Asitha and Vishwa took the new ball, and it wasn’t long until Asitha had Aiden Markram caught behind as the batter went for a cover drive to a ball that was outside his off-stump, leaving the Proteas in trouble after three overs.
Sri Lanka get their first wicket of the day 🏏💥
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) November 27, 2024
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Vishwa got into the wickets soon after, getting his reward for his probing lines and lengths outside the off-stump as the left-arm seamer lured Tony de Zorzi into a back-foot punch to a ball that was not only outside off-stump, but also too high to be a threat to the stumps.
The two openers were back in the dressing-room after four overs, and they had no one else to blame but themselves as they got out to deliveries they could have simply leave alone to go through to the wicket-keeper.
That resulted in Tristan Stubbs and returning captain Temba Bavuma trying to pick up the pieces, and the duo displayed a far better approach as they left the ball well and played with soft hands.
The pair combined for a 32-run partnership off 71 balls, and as the visiting seamers seemed to tire, Bavuma played a series of crisp cover drives and brought about stability to the Proteas innings.
Stubbs played his shots as first-change bowler Lahiru Kumara came into the attack, leaking 17 runs off his first over.
However, the right-arm quick redeemed himself as he got the outside edge of Stubbs’ bat in his second over, with Dimuth Karunaratne hanging onto the catch at slip.
With Kumara bowling a lot quicker than the opening bowlers, he provided a steep challenge for the Proteas batters and his sharp in-swingers made life tough.
As a result, David Bedingham was sent packing with a devastating in-swinger that shattered his off-stump that went cart-wheeling to leave South Africa reeling on 54/4 in the 18th over.
Bedingham’s hard hands and the gap between bat and pad were his undoing, as Kumara’s lethal delivery left the batter exposed and South Africa in trouble in the first session.
With his tail up, Kumara stayed on the attack, and troubled both Kyle Verreynne and Bavuma with his sharp in-swingers and occasional away-swingers to the right-handed batters.
The fast bowler thought he had his third wicket when he got Bavuma’s edge through to the keeper off a short ball, but the third umpire overturned the decision and called a front foot no-ball, handing Bavuma his third life of the day – having been dropped on one earlier on in his innings.
Despite the relentless threat that the visiting bowlers continued to pose, Bavuma (28 not out off 47 balls, 5x4) and Verreynne (nine not out) hung until rain interrupted play on the stroke of lunch.
PLAY IS ABANDONED IN DURBAN 🌧️
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) November 27, 2024
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The umpires called stumps over three hours later as the rain just refused to stop. South Africa will resume on 80/4 on day two, and play will start at 9.30am on Thursday.