2nd Test
Day-4 Evening Session Highlights:
South Africa has chipped away but Sri Lanka has remained alive in the challenging chase
At The Stumps of Day-4:
Sri Lanka scored 328 (1st Innings) & 205/5 (2nd Innings), where as South Africa scored 358 (1st Innings) & 317 (2nd Innings).
Sri Lanka need another 143 runs to win.
The second Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Gqeberha is intriguingly poised after the visitors staged a commendable fightback in their daunting run chase towards the end of Day 4.
Sri Lanka now needs 143 runs on the final day, while South Africa requires five more wickets to secure a series win.
Sri Lanka’s hopes of chasing down the target of 348 remain alive, thanks to the determined partnership between Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis.
The visitors had already lost their openers before Tea, leaving their middle-order trio of Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, and Kamindu Mendis to shoulder the responsibility.
While Mathews began the final session with a boundary, Kagiso Rabada put the batter under pressure for the remainder of the over.
At the other end, Dane Paterson quickly made an impact, dismissing Chandimal lbw.
He almost had Kamindu Mendis in his next over but the batter managed to overturn the decision.
Kamindu then hit back-to-back boundaries off Marco Jansen and even launched a six over backward square leg.
With runs flowing freely, Mathews also cleared the ropes once off Keshav Maharaj.
However, against the run of play, Maharaj managed to sneak one past Mathews’ defense, breaking the promising partnership.
South Africa tightened their grip on the game, dismissing Kamindu Mendis, with Kyle Verreynne pulling off a stunning diving catch.
With one more wicket, South Africa could have targeted the Sri Lankan lower order, but Kusal Mendis came in with a positive mindset, hitting a few boundaries off Maharaj.
Dhananjaya de Silva continued to look in good touch, regularly finding the boundary off Paterson and Maharaj to steadily chip away at the target.
Sri Lanka finished strongly and will hope the two batters can continue their good work to secure a memorable win on Day 5.
However, South Africa knows that one wicket will give them an opening to capitalize on.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka fought back in the morning session after Temba Bavuma passed fifty again in the series.
Prabath Jayasuriya was the standout performer, picking up a five-wicket haul and striking at crucial moments.
South Africa still managed to stretch their lead beyond the 300-run mark, and after lunch, some vital boundaries from the tail increased the lead close to 350, before Rabada and Paterson struck again, setting the stage for an exciting final session.
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