Tea South Africa 191 and 366 for 5 dec (Stubbs 122, Bavuma 113, Vishwa 2-64) lead Sri Lanka 42 by 515 runs
Sri Lanka removed Stubbs for 122 after he began taking substantial risks in pursuit of finding the boundary, and had Bavuma lbw for 113 off what turned out to be the last ball of the session. David Bedingham, who batted aggressively almost from the moment he arrived at the crease, was left not out on 21 off 11 balls.
Asitha Fernando rapped Bavuma in front of off stump in the 18th over he bowled, and despite a review from Bavuma, ended the South Africa captain’s innings. Lahiru Kumara, perhaps Sri Lanka’s best bowler in the second innings, finished wicketless after 18 overs.
It was the two South Africa batters’ hundreds, however, that most lit up the afternoon session. The more dramatic of these was Bavuma’s. He had appeared tentative in the 90s, with Sri Lanka raising lbw appeals against him, and forcing plays and misses as well. Bavuma’s completing of the century came amid a review.
Batting on 98, he had got low to lap sweep Prabath Jayasuriya, and was hit on the pad. The umpire turned down the lbw appeal as the batters ran three, and Bavuma took his helmet off to celebrate, only to have to wait a little longer, as Sri Lanka reviewed the decision.
The real-time snicko, however, had caught a very slight deflection off Bavuma’s glove into the pad, and as soon as this was shown on the big screen, Bavuma swung his bat in the air, and the crowd acknowledged him even before the final “not out” decision came through. Though this was only his third career ton, it was his second as captain. It came off the 202nd ball he faced.
Stubbs’ trip to triple figures had been more straightforward. He had spent only 14 balls in the 90s, before working Asitha through midwicket for a couple to complete the milestone. Stubbs was given lbw in the next over, off Kumara’s bowling, but he reviewed, and the ball was found to have struck him outside the line of off. In the first session, he had also been dropped on 33 off Vishwa’s bowling, by Angelo Mathews, who spilled a chance low to his left at second slip.
Bavuma and Stubbs’ grind in the wicketless first session’s work, though, had laid the foundation for their hundreds. Bavuma appeared the more fluent of the overnight batters, flicking his first ball of the day for four through midwicket, before settling into accumulation mode. Stubbs had been more cautious to start with, as Kumara went short at the batters, and Jayasuriya flighted the ball, searching for early dismissals.
Stubbs, typically, was stronger down the ground, while Bavuma was more adept at hitting square, often using his feet against the spinner, and occasionally playing the hard, flat sweep in addition to the dinky one past the keeper.
Aside from that one chance off Stubbs, both batters appeared largely in control. There were occasional lbw appeals, but with there still being some bounce on this Kingsmead surface, few were hitting the stumps. Both batters both eased past fifty in the second half of the morning session.
Sri Lanka now have 516 to get for victory, or seven sessions to bat out for a draw – both almost impossible requirements. No rain is forecast for the remainder of the Test.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf
