The hosts made an impressive fightback with both bat & bowl on the third day of the 2nd four-day game against South Africa ‘A’, at P. Sara Stadium in Colombo.
At the end of day 2, the Proteas were on 287/6, but a dramatic collapse saw the hosts pick up the last 4 wickets for just 7 runs on this morning, produced by Praveen Jayawickrama and Lakshitha Manasinghe, sharing those 4 wickets between them. Left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando took the first three wickets yesterday, but once again, Manasinghe was the star bowler, claiming his 10th 5-wicket haul in his First-Class career. Overnight batter, Kyle Verreynne remained not out on 38.
Nishan Madushka and Lasith Croospulle began their 2nd innings and provided a near-perfect start for the islanders. After putting a 62-run stand, Tshepo Moreki provided the breakthrough as Croospulle fell for 30 at the stroke of the lunch break.
After the lunch break, Sri Lanka lost their other opener too with Stubbs dismissing Madushka for 40. However, from then onwards, it was all about some excellent batting display from Minod Bhanuka and Pasindu Sooriyabandara, who shared an unbroken 157-run partnership for the 3rd wicket.
When the umpires called for early stumps due to bad light, Bhanuka was on 79 and Sooriyabandara remained unbeaten on 73. The hosts were able to dominate the entire day, posting 230 runs and currently, had a comprehensive lead of 226 with 8 wickets in hand.
