Herath’s 9 ends Test victory drought for Sri Lanka

A 9-wicket haul in the match for Rangana Herath hastened South Africa to their first ever defeat in Tests to Sri Lanka at home as the Lankans crushed the Proteas by 208 runs to level the 3-match series 1-1.

Given the drubbing at Centurion, Sri Lanka needed a miracle, at least in their batting to give the Proteas some fight. They were given that opportunity by luck, as Dilshan won the toss on a good batting pitch under excellent cricketing conditions and he immediately chose to bat. It was a slow and steady start by the openers before debutant Marchant de Lange struck twice in three balls to get rid of Paranavitana and Sangakkara.

Dilshan and Jayawardena fell after getting starts along with Mathews and the Lankans looked in deep trouble again with the score reading 162/5. It was now the turn of the other debutant, Dinesh Chandimal to strut his stuff. He combined with Samaraweera and added 91 runs for the 6th wicket.

However, just when the Proteas were beginning to look deflated with this partnership, Chandimal threw his wicket away after a fine 58 in the third session. Samaraweera and Perera nearly saw off the day but in the last over, de Lange struck again, to get rid of Perera and the Lankans went in to Stumps with their score on 289/7. Samaraweera was batting beautifully on 86 and he needed some support from the tail.

Sri Lanka offered some resistance on Day 2 but were eventually bowled out for 338. Thilan Samaraweera was the star with a brilliant 102 and earned a Batting Momentum of 130. Chandimal gave good support with his 58. For South Africa, debutant Marchant de Lange rocked the Lankans with 7/81 in 23.2 overs, finishing with a Bowling Efficiency of 292.

South Africa went in to Lunch with their score on 15/0 but after the break they slipped to 27/3. Amla and de Villiers then revived proceedings with a counter-attacking stand of 76 to take the Proteas to 100/3 at Tea. But once again, the break proved fatal for the hosts as they lost both their set batsmen immediately after Tea. That led to a collapse and the Proteas were bundled out for 168, conceding a lead of 170.

Hashim Amla top scored with 54 and earned a Batting Momentum of 52. For the Lankans, Chanaka Welegedara picked up 5/52 in 16.4 overs and finished with a Bowling Efficiency of 232 while Rangana Herath grabbed 4 scalps.

The drama was not over yet. Steyn, who had gone wicket-less in the first innings, dismissed Dilshan in his very first over, caught at first slip. Bad light then stopped play and the Lankans went into Stumps on Day 2, with their score on 7/1 and a lead of 177.

Sri Lanka began Day 3 badly, though they had some luck as well. Kumar Sangakkara was let off by Smith on 3 and he made the Proteas pay. The Lankans batted through the entire day, slowly but steadily, as Sangakkara went on to score his first century in South Africa. Wickets were falling around him but he stood tall amongst the ruins, with good contributions from Chandimal(54) and Samaraweera(43).

The Proteas bowled well in the first session but then lost patience and the Lankans pounced on it the second and third sessions. At the end of the day, when play was called off early due to poor light, Sri Lanka were sitting pretty on 256/7, with a lead of 426. Two days were left in the game and it seemed as if Sri Lanka were finally set for their first Test win after Muttiah Muralidaran’s retirement in 2010.

Strangely, Sri Lanka chose not to declare on the morning of Day 4 and continued batting on. They were eventually bowled out for 279, setting a target of 450 from a minimum of 186 overs over 2 days of play. Kumar Sangakkara top scored with 108, gaining a Batting Momentum of 157 while Dale Steyn picked up a 5-wicket haul, with a Bowling Efficiency of 119.

South Africa began their run chase cautiously before Fernando got rid of Smith caught in the slip cordon. Rudolph and Amla then batted beautifully with good positive strokes and when the hosts were 86/1 at Lunch, things looked to be in good shape. However, post lunch, the Proteas collapsed from 88/1 to 133/6 and it seemed as if we were in for an early finish. But de Villiers and Steyn batted responsibly with a 99-run stand before Herath trapped de Villiers LBW towards the end of the day.

That hastened the end as South Africa lost their next 3 wickets in the space of 23 balls to give Sri Lanka their first Test win in Africa. AB de Villiers top scored with 69 while Amla made 51 with the former gaining a Batting Momentum of 60. Rangana Herath was the pick of the bowlers with a 5-wicket haul, earning a Bowling Efficiency of 209. 

Have a look at the scorecard.

Sri Lanka finished with a Castrol Index of 278 while the Proteas ended up with 204.

Rangana Herath was named the Man Of The Match for his 9-wicket haul and ended up with the best Castrol Index value of 183. For South Africa, Marchant de Lange earned 154 points.

By virtue of this win, the 3-match series stands levelled 1-1.

The third and final Test will be played on Tuesday, 3rd January, 2012 at Cape Town at 0830 GMT.