Suranga Lakmal set South Africa the improbable task of chasing 490 to win the second Test and level the series against Sri Lanka, and gave his own men seven-and-a-half sessions to take the ten wickets they need to secure a series victory. South Africa have lasted less than four sessions in three innings on the island so far, and have slumped to their three lowest totals in Sri Lanka in this series, and will likely only be looking to leave the series with some respectability.
Sri Lanka’s declaration came 11 balls after Angelo Mathews was dismissed for 71, caught at slip by Faf du Plessis to give Keshav Maharaj’s his 12th wicket of the match. The second new ball was due, but South Africa had not yet opted to use it. Instead, they had Maharaj operating from one end, and were rotating through part-timers at the other. Theunis de Bruyn and Aiden Makram contributed 12 overs between them, with Dale Steyn having the heaviest workload of the quicks.
Steyn bowled 11 overs, wicketless, which means he will finish the series level with Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s highest wicket-taker with 421 scalps. Steyn will have to wait until Boxing Day, when South Africa host Pakistan, to try and overtake Pollock.
Source: ESPN
