South Africa seek to preserve Test record as SL spinners await

By Madushka Balasuriya

Following a spin-inspired blowout in Galle for the home side, it will come as little surprise that the pitch being prepared for the second Test at the SSC has been assessed as drier than usual.

However, while South Africa will likely still have PTSD from their first Test capitulation at the hands of the Sri Lankan spinners, they will take heart from the fact that two of the last three visiting non-subcontinental sides - England and New Zealand - have seen their fortunes turn dramatically around in Colombo following a series opening trouncing in Galle.

Add to this the fact that South Africa are unbeaten in 14 straight away bilateral series since their 2006 tour of Sri Lanka and despite the best case scenario only being a drawn series it still leaves the visitors with everything to play for.

“The record is something that we are proud of. It is never easy winning away from home. When you are coming to the subcontinent, drawing a series is as good as winning a series,” noted South African Captain Fat Du Plessis on the eve of the game.

“It’s tough and that’s what the best teams do. We need to get to that number one position in Test cricket and in order to do that we need to make sure we compete.”

A large part of that will depend on how they combat Sri Lanka’s contingent of spinners, who accounted for 16 of the 20 South African wickets that fell in the first Tests. Du Plessis feels the most important aspect is being more confident in their defence, while at the same time not ceding control to the spinners.

“I thought in the first Test we were quite off the boil in a lot of areas. We have also been a team that starts off late unfortunately. Then we start making better decisions. Hopefully we can do that in this Test match although we know it’s going to be tough.

“The thing that let us down in the first Test was that we didn’t trust our defence well enough. The important part of playing spin in Test cricket is trusting your defence. Obviously, you need to try and put the pressure back on the spinners as well with what you are doing.”

As a precautionary measure South Africa are also likely to go into the game with an additional batsman, revealed Du Plessis.

“The pitch looks dry and sometimes there will be assistance for seam bowlers. For me the biggest worry from the first Test was our batting. So probably we will go with the extra batter. That will give us an idea as to how to balance the team.”

For Sri Lanka meanwhile there is likely to be a return to action for Kusal Janith Perera, who missed the first Test while recovering from injury. Apart from that the lineup should remain pretty much the same as the one that was victorious in Galle.

That said, there are still areas in which the team is looking to improve, namely the performance of their top order. Apart from Dimuth Karunaratne, the rest of the Lankan top order floundered against both South Africa’s pace and spin, and Sri Lanka’s veteran campaigner Rangana Herath believes the batsman can learn from how Karunaratne coped out in the middle.

“Dimuth’s 150 was remarkable. He set up the game and set a fine example,” noted Herath. “We have got to learn from him. Have a chat with him and find out what worked for him. We are pretty pleased with the way Dimuth played.”

Acknowledging that Sri Lanka had in the past let visiting teams back into series with poor showings in Colombo, Herath emphasised that the team was determined to see out what would be an impressive series win against the number two ranked Test side in the world.

“If you take the New Zealand game [in 2012], we won in Galle and lost at P. Sara. Same thing with England [in 2011]. We need to adapt to conditions, true, but this is a different venue as well. Our preparation has been great and I am pretty sure the boys will deliver.

“At any cost we have to remember that they are a very dangerous side. They will bounce back I am sure. But we have a bit of a different plan and I am sure they will also have different plans. Our preparations have been great.”

Those preparations might have been hampered somewhat by ICC bans imposed on Captain Dinesh Chandimal and Coach Chandika Hathurusingha, following their spirit of cricket offences. However, Herath was keen to highlight the role the pair had played in the build-up to the game.

“It is true that we don’t have a captain or coach for the game, but if you see during nets, both Hathu and Chandi were there and preparation was good. Without them we cannot go that far. Only during the game they are not there, but they are behind us.”

The second Test gets underway at 10.00a.m. at the SSC.