Even though the South Africa bowlers were not creating magic when the Sri Lanka batsmen were scoring, Faf du Plessis maybe knew they would win the patience game. And he was right
Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth29-Dec-2016Faf du Plessis fell in step with Vernon Philander as he walked back to his mark. Du Plessis did most of the talking, Philander did what seemed to be some explaining. From mid-on, Kyle Abbott was shining the ball. Whether he had a mint in his mouth at the same time was not visible. From mid-off, Keshav Maharaj wore the same overwrought expression he had since just after he dismissed Rangana Herath in the first innings. Actually, it may have got a bit worse after the failed review against Angelo Mathews.Keshav Maharaj on…
The conditions: The pitch has got better and obviously the ball got softer. That made it a little bit more difficult to bowl with. But that’s what we call investing. With that older ball we try to invest, invest, invest, and hopefully with this new ball we can open up an avenue in the morning. It’s nice to bowl with the wind blowing from left to right as a left-arm spinner, it sort of gets the ball to drift. It’s not the easiest wind to control in terms of bowling, but sometimes it’s nice to have. Especially with the ball not spinning much. So you’ve got the drift to play with.
The declaration: Our declaration came at the right time. If they do chase that it’s going to be a record score and it’s unheard of. We expected partnerships but you’ve got to keep investing and there’ll also be opportunities that arise. We took our opportunities and we got two or three wickets back to back.
The prospect of a long last day: We’re not counting our chickens before they hatch. We’re willing to win in the last session on the final day. If it comes before that, that’s a bonus for us.
Everyone else was rooted to their fielding positions, with a distant gaze in their eyes that could probably mean they were either thinking really hard or wishing they were somewhere else.Maybe, just maybe, with Sri Lanka on 183 for 3, motoring at a rate of over three runs per over and 25 overs still left in the day, they were wondering whether their declaration had come too soon. Maybe, just maybe, whatever comes just before panic was starting to cross their minds.There was no movement on offer even though the easterly was gusting in at almost 40kph and the pitch had not deteriorated enough, except for the footmarks outside the left-hander’s off stump, to really bring Maharaj into play. Kagiso Rabada was down on pace and unusually inconsistent and the captain did not see a reason to turn the match into a science laboratory and himself into a nutty professor. At that stage, he had not called on JP Duminy’s offspin, even though it has been spoken off in respectable allrounder’s terms in the recent past, or Temba Bavuma’s seamers, which were being practised with some precision before the match.Du Plessis demanded more of the same from his frontline bowlers because even though they were not making magic, they were not doing anything too badly either. He trusted that in the patience game, they would probably win out. And he was right.Three overs after the scene of consternation, Rabada was brought back on and banged in a bouncer to Kusal Mendis, who tried to ramp it over the slips but got an edge to de Kock. Mendis’ choice of shot, especially with him having fought his way to 58, is something his great grandchildren will still be searching for the answers too. They may have to join forces with Kusal Perera’s and Dinesh Chandimal’s after they also threw it away.Perera’s came just after Sri Lanka’s best opening stand in South Africa was broken and may end up costing him the No. 3 role but Chandimal’s could cost Sri Lanka a chance at a greater fight. At 225 for 4, with the second new ball less than three overs away, the close of play only half an hour and the memory of being dropped charging down the pitch, fresh in his mind, he danced down and handed Rabada a catch at mid-off.Maharaj deserved the wicket as a reward for what he called the “investment” the attack had decided to put in. Essentially, South Africa knew all they could do was keep bowling, try a few of the standard things – Rabada’s short-ball strategy, a close-in field for the spinner – and wait for a mistake. It’s not the most attractive kind of cricket to watch unless you find your attraction in watching somebody add a page to their stamp collection, but it is the kind of cricket that pays off and Sri Lanka proved it. Despite not being tied down to any great degree, they made five mistakes too many and played into South Africa’s plans.The hosts’ return almost paid out a bonus when Bruce Oxenford gave Dhananjaya de Silva lbw off Abbott’s first delivery with the second new ball. South Africa were so busy celebrating, they did not even see de Silva call for the review and even then, finished their round of high-fives before turning to look at the big screen. What they saw initially confirmed their suspicions, that the ball had pitched on off and angled back in, but then they watched as the ball-tracking showed the ball missing leg stump.The players remained in their viewing spot long after the graphic had plotted the ball’s path. Abbott had a hand to his mouth, the rest had hands on hips in disbelief. Eventually, they began to move away. Du Plessis was the last to leave, and he did so reluctantly. He did not give himself enough time to fall in step with Abbott, who was on his way back to his mark. Instead, it was Duminy who walked the bowler back. Stephen Cook was shining the ball, nothing visible in this mouth. Maharaj still looked anxious.There are unlikely to be any doubts about whether South Africa scored enough runs or gave themselves enough time. But it is likely they will have to work just as hard to finish the job and they have already proved they are willing to do that.
