SA vs SL | Sri Lankan pacers shine as rain forces early end to first day

Debayan Sinha

ByDebayan Sinha, SportsCafe Editor

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The first day of the Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka was called off due to rain. Overcast conditions allowed Sri Lanka's pacers to claim four wickets and Lahiru Kumara scalping two wickets, leaving South Africa at 80/4 while continuous rain after lunch led the day to be abandoned.

‌The overcast conditions at Kingsmead set the stage for the first Test between Sri Lanka and South Africa.  Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva won the toss and opted to field, a decision that paid off early. Asitha Fernando struck in the third over, dismissing Aiden Markram, and the hosts were quickly in trouble. The pressure mounted as Vishwa Fernando removed Tony de Zorzi in the next over, leaving South Africa at 15/2. Tristan Stubbs and captain Temba Bavuma then combined to steady the ship, adding 32 runs to move the score to 46/2 by the 15th over. However, the conditions were still favouring the pacers, who were extracting plenty of swings. This eventually led to Stubbs' dismissal in the 16th over. Lahiru Kumara then showcased his skill, sending David Bedingham back in the 18th over with a superb delivery. Despite the setbacks, Kyle Verreynne and Bavuma responded by accelerating the innings, taking the score to 80/4 in 20.4 overs. Just as the momentum seemed to shift, rainfall intervened, bringing an early end to the session and calling for lunch five minutes ahead of schedule.

 

Unfortunately, the rain didn’t let up, continuing to pour throughout the afternoon and an early tea was called. However,  the rain halted for a bit but just as the groundsmen began removing the covers, the rain intensified once again, making any further play unlikely. With the conditions deteriorating, the match officials had no choice but to call off play for the day. The game will resume tomorrow for Day two, with hopes of better weather conditions.

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