A wonderful century from Sri Lanka Emerging player Promod Maduwantha (111), turned insufficient to thwart the South African all-round attack as Marco Jansen and Thando Nitini accounted for nine wickets for the home team to take a lead of 145 and be in the driver’s seat at stumps on day-three of the second unofficial Test yesterday in Pretoria, South Africa.
The Sri Lankans resuming, having already lost half of their side, lost Under-19 cap Kalana Perera too in quick succession.
But Maduwantha, played a patient innings pausing the procession and during that process he brought up an under-pressure magnificent hundred, his fourth first-class century. At the other end, pacie Chamika Karunaratne, reasonably a recognized batsman batted his share to cut-down the deficit.
Before the seventh-wicket pair could make any more progress, Thando Nitini claimed his fourth and the big fish wicket of the centurion Pramod to end a crucial 83-run stand.
Karunaratne scored slowly and steadily and notched a decent 53, before becoming one of Marco Jansen’s five victims.
Subsequent to the half-centurion’s wicket, Jansen in the space of eight-runs, returned to clean up the tail.
Brief scores:
S. Africa Emerging 441 (V Tonder 137, S Qeshile 87, I Simmonds 73, L Embuldeniya 8-156) and 92 for 1 (N Malan 36 n.o.)
Sri Lanka Emerging 388 (P Maduwantha 111, M Bhanuka 56, C Karunaratne 53, M Jansen 5-69, T Nitini 4- 76)-(PS)