March 22, 2012 / Posted in  New Zealand, South Africa

New Zealand v South Africa, 3rd Test, Wellington, 5th Day

An outstanding rearguard 102 from Kane Williamson negated Morne Morkel’s career-best figures of 6 for 23, as New Zealand held on for 80.4 overs to draw the third Test at the Basin Reserve. South Africa gifted Williamson two lives and the umpires one, but a flawless last session, much of it in the company of a courageous Doug Bracewell, ensured his side could glean positives from a difficult series, though they lost 1-0. New Zealand ended at 200 for 6, 189 short of the target they never attempted.

Kane Williamson (102 from 228 balls) fought through hostile bowling to save the Test for New Zealand

The sparse Wellington crowd cheered every wicketless delivery, as the full day’s quota approached. Hampered by the loss of Ross Taylor, New Zealand had only nine wickets to play with, but Williamson and Bracewell, who played out 19.1 overs together ensured Mark Gillespie and Chris Martin were left unused...

December 25, 2011 / Posted in  South Africa, Sri Lanka

Dilhara Fernando struck early as South Africa attempted a world record chase of 450 on the fourth day of the second Test in Durban

South Africa v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Durban, 4th day  Herath spins SL to famous victory

As predicted the Durban Test was a one-sided affair, except that it was the no-hopers from Sri Lanka who were doing the dominating. A year that has gone rapidly downhill for Sri Lanka since their World Cup final appearance in April, including an interminable run of series defeats and a bankrupt board struggling to pay players, ended on the most unexpected of highs as they secured their first Test success in South Africa.

A Sri Lanka victory that will rank alongside the path-breaking one at The Oval 15 years ago as the greatest in their history was within reach as South Africa’s batting crumbled after lunch on the fourth day at Kingsmead. The parties in Sri Lanka were delayed by a long stand between AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn, who batted out most of the final session before Rangana Herath struck minutes before close to ease any anxiety building up. The final three wickets went down in four deliveries and a fantastic year for Test cricket ended with the biggest upset of 2011.

South Africa’s batting had been solid in the morning session as well, and they would have been satisfied with the start to their attempt at a world-record chase of 450 despite losing the wicket of Graeme Smith. With Hashim Amla in imperious form, South Africa had reached a reasonably comfortable 86 for 1 by lunch, but over the next hour they lost four wickets and even their flimsy hopes of ending their three-Test losing run at Durban evaporated.

The collapse began in the first over after the break, when Jacques Rudolph’s resistance ended – and with it perhaps his recently-revived Test career, temporarily at least. As so often in his second coming at the Test level, he was caught in the slip cordon – this time nicking a wide delivery from Thisara Perera.

Jacques Kallis bagged a pair, as Sri Lanka won a Test in South Africa for the first time

Jacques Kallis has been in patchy form recently, including a duck in the first innings, but his record in the second innings of Tests is unimpeachable. If South Africa were to salvage something from the Test, they needed another Kallis special. Unfortunately for him, there were no match-turning heroics as he top-edged a sweep on to his helmet to give short leg a catch. In his 149th Test, he bagged his first pair.

If that blow left South Africa unsteady, they were on the mat soon after as Amla, till then producing a masterclass in off-side strokeplay, was run out after attempting a kamikaze single. He punched the ball straight to mid-on and dashed across for the run though Ashwell Prince showed no interest, and stayed firmly at the non-striker’s end. Prince, with his Test career on the line, then had to face a lifter from Dilhara Fernando, that he could only glove towards slip. With South Africa at 116 for 5, the fans could start partying in Sri Lanka.

The Prince dismissal was an almost exact replica of Smith’s earlier in the day. Fernando, used as early as the ninth over this time after his delayed introduction in the first innings, started with his usual no-ball, raising snickers, but there was no laughing later in the over when he got a delivery to leap at Smith. The batsman attempted to ride the bounce, instead of dropping his hands and letting the ball through, and could only glove a catch to slip.

Besides Fernando, South Africa’s main worry was the left-arm spin of Herath. On Wednesday, South Africa had been given a glimpse of what was to come when two successive deliveries from Imran Tahir spun and kicked off a length to comfortably beat the batsman and the wicketkeeper. With the ball turning, Herath varied his flight and angle, to relentlessly probe the South African batsmen’s techniques. He was rewarded with the huge wicket of Kallis, and just before tea he added the scalp of Mark Boucher, another man whose place in the side is under scrutiny.

AB de Villiers gamely fought on, but there was little he could do to lift South Africa from their hopeless situation. He and Steyn defied the bowling for 34 overs – another reminder to the batting unit that failed twice in this match that the surface wasn’t unplayable.

Steyn had been central to South Africa’s promising start to the day as well. In the first innings, he had gone wicketless in a completed innings for the first time since 2008, and he responded second time round with his 17th Test five-for to bring a quick end to the Sri Lankan innings.

There was some classic tail-end batting from Sri Lanka in the morning but their resistance lasted only about half an hour. It didn’t matter much, given how far ahead Sri Lanka had already got after the first three days of the Test.

The biggest monkey on the back in the game, if measured by column inches, would be Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international hundred, but the bigger one is Sri Lanka failing to win a Test for nearly a year-and-a-half since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan. They have got that off their backs – in style and on a great stage – setting up a tantalising decider in Cape Town.

Sri Lanka 338 & 279

South Africa 168 & 241 (87.3 ov)

Sri Lanka won by 208 runs

• Sri Lanka in South Africa Test Series – 2nd Test
• Test no. 2026 | 2011/12 season
• Played at Kingsmead, Durban
• 26,27,28,29 December 2011 (5-day match)

	Sri Lanka 1st innings		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	NT Paranavitana	c †Boucher b de Lange	12	38	29	1	0	41.37
	TM Dilshan*	c Morkel b Imran Tahir	47	101	69	6	0	68.11
	KC Sangakkara	c †Boucher b de Lange	0	7	3	0	0	0.00
	DPMD Jayawardene	b Morkel	31	81	58	3	1	53.44
	TT Samaraweera	c Prince b de Lange	102	356	269	11	0	37.91
	AD Mathews	c & b de Lange	30	66	51	5	0	58.82
	LD Chandimal†	c †Boucher b Morkel	58	141	86	7	0	67.44
	NLTC Perera	c Amla b de Lange	12	35	28	2	0	42.85
	HMRKB Herath	c †Boucher b de Lange	30	73	54	4	0	55.55
	UWMBCA Welegedara	c Amla b de Lange	2	4	4	0	0	50.00
	CRD Fernando	not out	0	6	5	0	0	0.00
	Extras	(lb 8, nb 6)	14
	Total	(all out; 108.2 overs)	338	(3.12 runs per over)

Fall of wickets 1-35 (Paranavitana, 8.6 ov), 2-47 (Sangakkara, 10.2 ov), 3-84 (Dilshan, 23.3 ov), 4-117 (Jayawardene, 29.3 ov), 5-162 (Mathews, 44.3 ov), 6-273 (Chandimal, 81.3 ov), 7-289 (Perera, 89.3 ov), 8-335 (Herath, 106.1 ov), 9-337 (Welegedara, 106.5 ov), 10-338 (Samaraweera, 108.2 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	DW Steyn	23	5	63	0	2.73
	M Morkel	21	3	61	2	2.90	(4nb)
	M de Lange	23.2	3	81	7	3.47
	Imran Tahir	32	3	101	1	3.15	(2nb)
	JH Kallis	9	1	24	0	2.66

	South Africa 1st innings		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	GC Smith*	c †Chandimal b Welegedara	15	36	38	2	0	39.47
	JA Rudolph	c Welegedara b Perera	7	28	13	1	0	53.84
	HM Amla	c †Chandimal b Welegedara	54	129	83	10	0	65.06
	JH Kallis	c Jayawardene b Welegedara	0	7	3	0	0	0.00
	AB de Villiers	c Jayawardene b Welegedara	25	103	79	3	0	31.64
	AG Prince	c Jayawardene b Herath	11	41	24	1	0	45.83
	MV Boucher†	c Dilshan b Herath	3	20	14	0	0	21.42
	DW Steyn	not out	29	62	36	2	2	80.55
	M Morkel	b Herath	0	3	5	0	0	0.00
	Imran Tahir	st †Chandimal b Herath	11	25	19	0	1	57.89
	M de Lange	c †Chandimal b Welegedara	9	21	17	2	0	52.94
	Extras	(w 1, nb 3)	4
	Total	(all out; 54.4 overs)	168	(3.07 runs per over)

Fall of wickets 1-22 (Rudolph, 7.2 ov), 2-27 (Smith, 8.6 ov), 3-27 (Kallis, 10.3 ov), 4-103 (de Villiers, 34.5 ov), 5-106 (Amla, 36.3 ov), 6-118 (Boucher, 41.1 ov), 7-119 (Prince, 43.1 ov), 8-119 (Morkel, 43.6 ov), 9-145 (Imran Tahir, 49.3 ov), 10-168 (de Lange, 54.4 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	UWMBCA Welegedara	16.4	3	52	5	3.12	(3nb)
	NLTC Perera	9	3	27	1	3.00
	TM Dilshan	1	1	0	0	0.00
	HMRKB Herath	20	7	49	4	2.45
	AD Mathews	2	0	11	0	5.50	(1w)
	CRD Fernando	6	0	29	0	4.83

	Sri Lanka 2nd innings		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	NT Paranavitana	c Prince b Morkel	9	36	22	2	0	40.90
	TM Dilshan*	c Smith b Steyn	4	6	3	1	0	133.33
	KC Sangakkara	c Smith b Imran Tahir	108	289	190	13	0	56.84
	DPMD Jayawardene	lbw b de Lange	14	41	27	2	0	51.85
	TT Samaraweera	b Imran Tahir	43	95	64	5	0	67.18
	AD Mathews	c †Boucher b Steyn	3	8	6	0	0	50.00
	LD Chandimal†	c †Boucher b Steyn	54	92	92	7	0	58.69
	NLTC Perera	c Kallis b Steyn	12	23	17	1	0	70.58
	HMRKB Herath	not out	8	48	31	0	0	25.80
	UWMBCA Welegedara	c Amla b Steyn	10	14	7	2	0	142.85
	CRD Fernando	c Prince b Morkel	3	13	13	0	0	23.07
	Extras	(b 5, lb 3, w 1, nb 2)	11
	Total	(all out; 78.2 overs; 344 mins)	279	(3.56 runs per over)

Fall of wickets 1-4 (Dilshan, 1.3 ov), 2-20 (Paranavitana, 8.1 ov), 3-44 (Jayawardene, 16.4 ov), 4-138 (Samaraweera, 38.1 ov), 5-141 (Mathews, 39.5 ov), 6-245 (Chandimal, 66.5 ov), 7-245 (Sangakkara, 67.1 ov), 8-262 (Perera, 71.6 ov), 9-276 (Welegedara, 75.3 ov), 10-279 (Fernando, 78.2 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	M Morkel	18.2	4	46	2	2.50
	DW Steyn	20	3	73	5	3.65
	M de Lange	13	2	45	1	3.46	(1nb, 1w)
	JH Kallis	11	1	43	0	3.90
	Imran Tahir	16	1	64	2	4.00	(1nb)

	South Africa 2nd innings (target: 450 runs)		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	JA Rudolph	c Jayawardene b Perera	22	108	65	3	0	33.84
	GC Smith*	c Jayawardene b Fernando	26	41	37	1	0	70.27
	HM Amla	run out (Welegedara/†Chandimal)	51	99	81	7	0	62.96
	JH Kallis	c Paranavitana b Herath	0	17	7	0	0	0.00
	AG Prince	c Paranavitana b Fernando	7	41	24	0	0	29.16
	AB de Villiers	lbw b Herath	69	204	141	6	1	48.93
	MV Boucher†	lbw b Herath	7	43	34	0	0	20.58
	DW Steyn	lbw b Herath	43	153	125	7	0	34.40
	M Morkel	lbw b Dilshan	5	11	10	0	0	50.00
	Imran Tahir	not out	0	4	0	0	0	-
	M de Lange	b Herath	0	1	2	0	0	0.00
	Extras	(b 6, lb 1, w 3, nb 1)	11
	Total	(all out; 87.3 overs)	241	(2.75 runs per over)

Fall of wickets 1-37 (Smith, 9.5 ov), 2-88 (Rudolph, 26.4 ov), 3-97 (Kallis, 29.5 ov), 4-106 (Amla, 33.2 ov), 5-116 (Prince, 38.3 ov), 6-133 (Boucher, 49.3 ov), 7-232 (de Villiers, 83.4 ov), 8-241 (Morkel, 86.6 ov), 9-241 (Steyn, 87.1 ov), 10-241 (de Lange, 87.3 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	UWMBCA Welegedara	16	5	33	0	2.06	(1w)
	NLTC Perera	13	0	48	1	3.69
	CRD Fernando	13	3	29	2	2.23	(1nb, 2w)
	TM Dilshan	11	2	35	1	3.18
	HMRKB Herath	30.3	7	79	5	2.59
	AD Mathews	3	0	9	0	3.00
	TT Samaraweera	1	0	1	0	1.00

Match details

Toss Sri Lanka, who chose to bat Series 3-match series level 1-1

Test debuts M de Lange (South Africa); LD Chandimal (Sri Lanka) Player of the match HMRKB Herath (Sri Lanka)

Umpires SJ Davis (Australia) and RA Kettleborough (England) TV umpire RJ Tucker (Australia) Match referee BC Broad (England) Reserve umpire S George

Close of play Mon, 26 Dec - day 1 – Sri Lanka 1st innings 289/7 (TT Samaraweera 86*, 89.3 ov) Tue, 27 Dec - day 2 – Sri Lanka 2nd innings 7/1 (NT Paranavitana 0*, KC Sangakkara 3*, 2.1 ov) Wed, 28 Dec - day 3 – Sri Lanka 2nd innings 256/7 (NLTC Perera 6*, HMRKB Herath 5*, 70.3 ov) Thu, 29 Dec - day 4 – South Africa 2nd innings 241 (87.3 ov) – end of match

Match notes

Day 1: Sri Lanka 1st innings Drinks: Sri Lanka – 48/2 in 13.0 overs (TM Dilshan 32, DPMD Jayawardene 0) Sri Lanka: 50 runs in 13.6 overs (84 balls), Extras 4 Sri Lanka: 100 runs in 26.3 overs (160 balls), Extras 5 Lunch: Sri Lanka – 112/3 in 28.0 overs (DPMD Jayawardene 27, TT Samaraweera 17) Sri Lanka: 150 runs in 40.5 overs (248 balls), Extras 11 Drinks: Sri Lanka – 152/4 in 41.0 overs (TT Samaraweera 31, AD Mathews 20) Tea: Sri Lanka – 197/5 in 57.0 overs (TT Samaraweera 40, LD Chandimal 26) Sri Lanka: 200 runs in 57.5 overs (350 balls), Extras 11 TT Samaraweera: 50 off 115 balls (6 x 4) 6th Wicket: 50 runs in 97 balls (TT Samaraweera 19, LD Chandimal 30, Ex 1) Drinks: Sri Lanka – 245/5 in 72.1 overs (TT Samaraweera 67, LD Chandimal 46) Sri Lanka: 250 runs in 73.1 overs (443 balls), Extras 12 LD Chandimal: 50 off 72 balls (7 x 4) 6th Wicket: 100 runs in 188 balls (TT Samaraweera 46, LD Chandimal 52, Ex 2) New Ball Taken: Sri Lanka 273/5 after 80.1 overs (TT Samaraweera 82, LD Chandimal 58) End Of Day: Sri Lanka – 289/7 in 89.3 overs (TT Samaraweera 86) South Africa 2nd innings Attendance: 13,042 Day 2: Sri Lanka 1st innings Over 90.1: Review by South Africa (Bowling), Umpire – SJ Davis, Batsman – TT Samaraweera (Struck down) Sri Lanka: 300 runs in 96.1 overs (582 balls), Extras 13 Drinks: Sri Lanka – 322/7 in 104.0 overs (TT Samaraweera 98, HMRKB Herath 20) TT Samaraweera: 100 off 265 balls (11 x 4) Innings Break: Sri Lanka – 338/10 in 108.2 overs (CRD Fernando 0) South Africa 1st innings Lunch: South Africa – 15/0 in 6.0 overs (GC Smith 11, JA Rudolph 4) South Africa: 50 runs in 18.2 overs (112 balls), Extras 2 Drinks: South Africa – 55/3 in 20.0 overs (HM Amla 22, AB de Villiers 9) 4th Wicket: 50 runs in 98 balls (HM Amla 31, AB de Villiers 18, Ex 2) HM Amla: 50 off 69 balls (10 x 4) South Africa: 100 runs in 31.1 overs (189 balls), Extras 3 Tea: South Africa – 100/3 in 34.0 overs (HM Amla 52, AB de Villiers 23) Over 37.5: Review by Sri Lanka (Bowling), Umpire – RA Kettleborough, Batsman – AG Prince (Struck down) Drinks: South Africa – 132/8 in 46.0 overs (DW Steyn 13, Imran Tahir 0) South Africa: 150 runs in 50.3 overs (306 balls), Extras 4 Innings Break: South Africa – 168/10 in 54.4 overs (DW Steyn 29) Sri Lanka 2nd innings Bad Light: Sri Lanka – 7/1 in 2.1 overs (NT Paranavitana 0, KC Sangakkara 3) End Of Day: Sri Lanka – 7/1 in 2.1 overs (NT Paranavitana 0, KC Sangakkara 3) South Africa 2nd innings Attendance: 7,292 Day 3: Sri Lanka 2nd innings Wet Ground: Sri Lanka – 7/1 in 2.1 overs (NT Paranavitana 0, KC Sangakkara 3) Drinks: Sri Lanka – 33/2 in 13.0 overs (KC Sangakkara 11, DPMD Jayawardene 9) Over 16.4: Review by Sri Lanka (Batting), Umpire – SJ Davis, Batsman – DPMD Jayawardene (Struck down) Sri Lanka: 50 runs in 17.4 overs (106 balls), Extras 0 Lunch: Sri Lanka – 65/3 in 22.0 overs (KC Sangakkara 28, TT Samaraweera 9) 4th Wicket: 50 runs in 82 balls (KC Sangakkara 21, TT Samaraweera 26, Ex 3) Sri Lanka: 100 runs in 30.5 overs (186 balls), Extras 3 Drinks: Sri Lanka – 111/3 in 34.0 overs (KC Sangakkara 48, TT Samaraweera 33) KC Sangakkara: 50 off 102 balls (4 x 4) Sri Lanka: 150 runs in 40.6 overs (248 balls), Extras 9 Drinks: Sri Lanka – 155/5 in 44.0 overs (KC Sangakkara 69, LD Chandimal 4) 6th Wicket: 50 runs in 65 balls (KC Sangakkara 30, LD Chandimal 19, Ex 1) Sri Lanka: 200 runs in 53.2 overs (322 balls), Extras 9 KC Sangakkara: 100 off 161 balls (13 x 4) Tea: Sri Lanka – 207/5 in 56.0 overs (KC Sangakkara 101, LD Chandimal 23) LD Chandimal: 50 off 84 balls (6 x 4) 6th Wicket: 100 runs in 159 balls (KC Sangakkara 48, LD Chandimal 50, Ex 2) Sri Lanka: 250 runs in 68.1 overs (411 balls), Extras 10 Bad Light: Sri Lanka – 256/7 in 70.3 overs (NLTC Perera 6, HMRKB Herath 5) End Of Day: Sri Lanka – 256/7 in 70.3 overs (NLTC Perera 6, HMRKB Herath 5) South Africa 2nd innings Attendance: 3,181 Day 4: Sri Lanka 2nd innings Innings Break: Sri Lanka – 279/10 in 78.2 overs (HMRKB Herath 8) South Africa 2nd innings Drinks: South Africa – 49/1 in 13.0 overs (JA Rudolph 16, HM Amla 6) South Africa: 50 runs in 13.5 overs (84 balls), Extras 1 Lunch: South Africa – 86/1 in 26.0 overs (JA Rudolph 20, HM Amla 37) 2nd Wicket: 50 runs in 99 balls (JA Rudolph 12, HM Amla 37, Ex 2) Over 29.5: Review by Sri Lanka (Bowling), Umpire – SJ Davis, Batsman – JH Kallis (Upheld) South Africa: 100 runs in 31.4 overs (191 balls), Extras 3 HM Amla: 50 off 77 balls (7 x 4) Drinks: South Africa – 116/4 in 38.0 overs (AG Prince 7, AB de Villiers 5) Over 45.1: Review by Sri Lanka (Bowling), Umpire – SJ Davis, Batsman – MV Boucher (Struck down) Over 49.3: Review by South Africa (Batting), Umpire – SJ Davis, Batsman – MV Boucher (Struck down) Tea: South Africa – 136/6 in 53.0 overs (AB de Villiers 17, DW Steyn 1) Attendance: 4,333 South Africa: 150 runs in 57.2 overs (345 balls), Extras 6 Over 60.5: Review by Sri Lanka (Bowling), Umpire – RA Kettleborough, Batsman – AB de Villiers (Struck down) 7th Wicket: 50 runs in 96 balls (AB de Villiers 30, DW Steyn 18, Ex 2) Drinks: South Africa – 189/6 in 68.0 overs (AB de Villiers 46, DW Steyn 23) South Africa: 200 runs in 70.1 overs (422 balls), Extras 7 AB de Villiers: 50 off 105 balls (5 x 4, 1 x 6) New Ball Taken: South Africa 227/6 after 80.1 overs (AB de Villiers 65, DW Steyn 38) Over 83.4: Review by South Africa (Batting), Umpire – SJ Davis, Batsman – AB de Villiers (Struck down)

South Africa v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Durban, 3rd day Sangakkara ton keeps Sri Lanka in charge

Sri Lanka came into this match facing the prospect of their first win-less year in Tests since 1997, and after the hammering in Centurion few predicted anything other than a straightforward win for South Africa in Durban. Three days into the game though, they are firmly on course for their first Test win in 16 attempts, and their first since the retirement of their greatest match-winner, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Kumar Sangakkara made his first important contribution of the series, while Thilan Samaraweera and Dinesh Chandimal made their second each of the game to steer Sri Lanka’s lead towards match-winning proportions. Sangakkara’s first century in South Africa left the home side needing to pull off a world record chase to end their Durban jinx.

Sangakkara, the world’s No. 1 Test batsman, came into this innings with scores of 0, 1 and 2 in the series, and could have been dismissed on 3 in the day’s first over. After overnight rain delayed the start of play by an hour, South Africa’s quick bowlers were on top of their game in the morning. Morne Morkel sent an early warning, getting the first ball to zip past Sangakkara’s outside edge...