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Sunday CHRONICLE July 27, 2014
Perera gives Sri Lanka big lead despite Amla ton Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera takes career best five for 69 (REUTERS) - South Africa captain Hashim Amla remained unbeaten after his 22nd Test hundred but off-spinner Dilruwan Perera’s career best figures gave Sri Lanka a big first innings lead at the end of the third day of the second Test yesterday. South Africa were dismissed for 282 in reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 421. At stumps Sri Lanka were 11 without loss with Upul Tharanga on six and Kaushal Silva on five, with a lead of 150. Amla put on a fine display of concentration and application as he fought hard to give his team a fighting chance of saving the test and preserving their 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The stylish right-hander, who resumed on 46 on Saturday, batted through the South Africa innings to remain not out on 139, having batted for eight hours during which he faced 382 balls and hit 12 fours. “It’s a great innings, every hundred he gets is of massive importance,” South Africa coach Russell Domingo told reporters. “Whether he got a 50 or a 40 or a 100 has anything to do with his leadership or what it can do with his leadership because he’s done an outstanding job. “He was very patient, he applied himself very well he
obviously got his strategy right.” Amla was the only South African batsman to come to terms with the slow turning pitch as Sri Lankan spinners Perera and Rangana Herath proved a handful for the rest of them. Domingo said South Africa faced a fight to save the game. “140 is a substantial lead and Sri Lanka are obviously in a good position,” he said.
Hashim Amla registered his first Test ton against Sri Lanka in Colombo, on the 3rd day.
We would have liked to have got another 50 runs or so it would have been much more comfortable.” Sri Lanka’s attempt to finish off the South African innings quickly was not helped by wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella’s missed stumping of Steyn on 19 when the batsman jumped out against Herath and missed the ball. Steyn was eventually dismissed for 30 but by then he had eaten up valuable time which Sri Lanka can ill-afford if they are to win the test and draw the series. Herath took Steyn’s wicket when the batsman holed out to Kumar Sangakkara at long off after spending 75 minutes and 71 balls in the middle. The left-arm spinner also accounted for Imran Tahir (15) having him caught at wide mid-off to finish with figures of four for 71. PERERA STRIKES Perera, who had been tormenting the batsmen with his guile and flight, picked up his second five-wicket haul of his career when he had Mornie Morkel caught at forward short leg for a duck to end the South African innings. Amla, in his second test as captain, survived a dropped catch by Kaushal Silva at extra cover, seven runs short of his century
Dilruwan Perera picked up his second five-wicket haul. when he drove Suranga Lakmal in the air. Perera also bowled Vernon Philander through the gate for nine. JP Duminy, who took 58 balls to score his three runs before being drawn outside his crease by Herath, was out stumped. South Africa appeared intent on occupying the crease for as long as possible and Amla was helping them do just that with the second session producing just 71 in 29 overs.
In the morning, Perera struck twice in one over to dent South Africa’s hopes of getting close to Sri Lanka’s first innings total. South Africa, who resumed on 98-3, went to lunch on 163 for five with a defiant Amla holding up one end as his team mates struggled to cope with the home spin attack. Overnight pair Amla and AB de Villiers took South Africa to 143-3 in the first hour, adding 45 fairly untroubled runs, with the former completing his 28th test fifty off 140 balls. The only alarming moments of the day up to that point came when De Villiers was struck on the helmet by a short delivery from Lakmal and then survived an appeal for a catch behind off the same bowler when he was on 30. TV replays confirmed the ball had bounced before it reached the wicketkeeper but the introduction of Perera in the 17th over of the day dramatically changed the momentum of the innings. Perera struck twice in his 19th over by getting rid of De Villiers for 37 and the dangerous Quinton de Kock for a duck. De Villiers’ dismissal ended a stubborn fourthwicket partnership of 79 with Amla but De Kock lasted just two balls before he was
Scoreboard SRI LANKA first innings 421 South Africa first innings (overnight 98-3) A. Petersen c and b Herath 2 D. Elgar c Silva b Perera 1 F. de Plessis c Dickwella b Lakmal 36 H. Amla not out 139 AB de Villiers lbw b Perera 37 Q de Kock b Perera 0 JP Duminy st Dickwella b Herath 3 V. Philander b Perera 9 D. Steyn c Sangakkara b Herath 30 I. Tahir c Tharanga b Herath 15 M. Morkel c Silva b Perera 0 Extras (lb-3, nb-6, w-1) 10 Total (all out, 134.5 overs) 282 Fall of wickets: 1-3 2-13 3-71 4-150 5-150 6-175 7-204 8-251 9-279 Bowling: Lakmal 23-7-54-1 (4nb, 1w), Herath 45-1771-4, Perera 41.5-11-69-5, Mendis 21-1-68-0 (2nb), Vithanage 4-0-17-0 SRI LANKA second innings U. Tharanga not out 6 K. Silva not out 5 Total: (no wickets, 5 overs) 11 Still to bat: K. Sangakkara, M. Jayawardene, A. Mathews, N. Dickwella, K. Vithanage, D. Perera, R. Herath, S. Lakmal, A. Mendis Bowling (to date): Steyn 3-1-7-0, Philander 2-1-4-0
beaten by the flight and clean bowled by Perera. “On this wicket, there wasn’t much of a turn from the end that I was bowling so I had to create angles and I started going round the wicket,” Perera said. He added that South Africa had clearly been playing for a draw. “We knew they’d play like that. Even yesterday, they did the same. They had to attack but they batted quite slowly on this wicket,” he said. “According to the way they batted, we thought they were trying to go for a draw. Because of their approach to this game, we got a fair lead.”
Dominant Nibali set to be crowned in Paris By Julien Pretot PERIGUEUX, France -(Reuters) - Having dominated on all terrains, Vincenzo Nibali is set to win the Tour de France after avoiding any late dramas yesterday in the penultimate stage, a 54-km time trial from Bergerac won by Tony Martin. Italian Nibali finished fourth in the stage, nearly two minutes slower than the dominant German - who clocked one hour six minutes 21 seconds - but will roll into Paris today with an overall lead of seven minutes 52 seconds. Jean-Christophe Peraud climbed to second overall ahead of compatriot Thibaut Pinot and France are now
poised to have two riders on the podium for the first time since Laurent Fignon and Bernard Hinault finished first and second in 1984. Nibali will become the sixth man to win all three grand tours barring a crash in Sunday’s processional final stage that ends on the Champs Elysees, and the first Italian to win the Tour de France since the late Marco Pantani in 1998. “It was not an easy time trial, it required a lot of power,” said Astana rider Nibali who has won four stages and has worn the yellow jersey for most of the race since snatching it on the second day in Sheffield, England. FDJ.fr rider Pinot, who will claim the white jersey for
the best under-25 rider ahead of compatriot Romain Bardet, is 8:24 off the pace. “Near the end I was empty, the last 5-km felt really long,” said Pinot. Peraud started the day third overall behind Pinot but was stronger against the clock than his young compatriot and managed to beat him despite suffering a puncture soon after the halfway point. His AG2R-La Mondiale team mate Bardet also had a puncture 2-km from the line, losing fifth place overall to American Tejay van Garderen by two seconds. TIRED VALVERDE Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, fourth in the race standings, was tired and never
Race leader Astana team rider Vincenzo Nibali of Italy reacts as he crosses the finish line after the 208.5km 19th stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Maubourguet and Bergerac, yesterday. (Credit: Reuters/Christian Hartmann)
threatened. “The legs did not respond the way I expected,” said Movistar rider Valverde, the Spanish time trial champion. “During the stage I knew the time differences and therefore I knew the podium was lost.” Poland’s Rafal Majka, who claimed two mountain stages, is to take the polka dot jersey for the mountain classification while Slovakian Peter Sagan will easily claim the green jersey for the points classification. Alessandro De Marchi of Italy was voted the most aggressive rider of the event by a panel of journalists and race officials while AG2R-La Mondiale will win the team
classification. Nibali, who won the 2010 Tour of Spain and last year’s Giro d’Italia, has surrendered the yellow jersey for only one day since taking it in Sheffield. Briton Chris Froome, the 2013 champion, crashed out on the fifth stage while Spain’s Alberto Contador, the 2007 and 2009 winner who had looked in ominous form coming into the race, also pulled out after an accident on the 10th leg. Before Nibali, only Frenchmen Hinault and Jacques Anquetil, Italy’s Felice Gimondi, Belgian Eddy Merckx and Contador had won the Tour, the Giro and the Vuelta.