Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Saturday, 21 July 2018 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Following his record-breaking feats on the opening day at the SSC, South African spinner Keshav Maharaj had some advice for his compatriots on how to cope with a track that was only going to get tougher to bat on as the Test wears on: stay in the middle as long as you can, and the runs will come.
“I think Karunaratne, Dhananjaya and Gunathilaka showed the application that the batsmen need to take. You don’t need to take many risks because there are opportunities there to score,” said the 28 year-old left-arm spinner, after a day where he recorded figures of 8/116 - the best by a South African spinner in Asia, and the fifth best figures by a non-Asian bowler in Asia.
“On wickets that are generally slow like the subcontinent wicket, it’s important that the ball stays harder for longer to get that bounce and turn.
“When it gets softer, it gives the batsman a little more time to adjust his shots. So in the period between 55 and 75 or 80 overs, you saw that the ball was a little bit easier to score off, simply because it wasn’t biting much off the wicket, and you didn’t get the bounce that you would get off the new ball.”
While this could simply be a case of Maharaj looking to give his batsman some hope - especially following their spin-induced capitulation in Galle - or more likely affording himself some much-deserved credit for an inspired bowling performance, the reality is that a majority of the Sri Lankan wickets that fell were either down to lapses in concentration by the batsmen or the guile shown by Maharaj.
Four out of nine Sri Lanka dismissals owed as much to Maharaj as they did to ill-advised attempts at a sweep, while two were down to outstanding efforts in the field. It’s only Angelo Mathews that can legitimately claimed to have received an unplayable delivery as a result of the surface, and Maharaj was keen to point out the need to get yourself in on this pitch. “It wasn’t a nick off balls or LBWs that dismissed the batsmen that got passed the fifty mark. It was the sweep that came into play and things like that. I think there is a lot for the batters if you get in. Dimuth was the one guy who played within his game plan. He showed that in the first Test and he carried that into the second Test as well.”
The South Africans will be hoping to similarly apply themselves when they bat later today, especially if they are to preserve an unbeaten record in Asia that stretches back 12 years. (MB)
