Kaieteur News
PAGE 34
Saturday January 14, 2017
Rabada, Philander peg back Sri Lanka in third test (Reuters) Two wickets each for li v e l y S o u t h African seamers Kagiso R a b a d a a n d Ve r n o n Philander left Sri Lanka reeling on 80 for four in their first innings when bad l i g h t b r o u g h t a premature end on day two of the third and final test a t t h e Wa n d e r e r s yesterday. Sri Lanka still trail South Africa by 346 on a wicket with plenty of pace, bounce and sideways movement, and will rely on the experienced duo of skipper Angelo Mathews (11 not out) and Dinesh Chandimal (3 not out) to rescue the innings. The tourists had fought superbly to get themselves back into the game in the first two sessions of the day, restricting South Africa to 426 all out from their overnight 338 for three. Yet with Rabada (2-26) and Philander (2-23) beating
the bat at will on a responsive wicket, the tourists face a mighty challenge to stay in the game. Philander struck first when he removed opener Dimuth Karunaratne for a duck in the first over as he edged to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, and later had Dhananjaya de Silva caught by Temba Bavuma at point for 10. Rabada got sharp lift off the wicket and claimed his first scalp when he forced an edge from Kaushal Silva to De Kock when on 13, before a steep bouncer to Kusal Mendis (41) looped off a glove to JP Duminy. Earlier, a magnificent spell of hostile fast bowling before lunch from Nuwan Pradeep (4-78) ripped through the South Africa middle-order as he recorded figures of four wickets for 15 runs in seven overs. Pradeep claimed the
prized w ickets of home s kipper F af du P les s is (16) as he s quared him up and M endis held on to a catch at s econd s lip. T h e m b a B a v u m a ’s wretched run continued when he was caught in the slips by Silva off Pradeep two balls later for a duck, before the tourists snared the big wicket of Hashim Amla for 134. Amla had completed the rare feat of scoring a century in his 100th test but Pradeep brought the magnificent innings to a close when he coaxed an edge to Chandimal. The seamer grabbed his fourth wicket when he had Philander caught by the wicketkeeper for a duck. Scores: Sri Lanka 80 for 4 (Mathews 11*, Chandimal 3*) trail South Africa 426 (Duminy 155, Amla 134, Pradeep 4-78, Kumara 4107) by 346 runs.
Kagiso Rabada struck twice after tea, South Africa v Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, Johannesburg, 2nd day, ©AFP
Record stand lifts Bangladesh as New Zealand fade in first test
Shakib Al Hasan celebrates his double-ton, New Zealand v Bangladesh, 1st Test, Wellington, 2nd day, ©Getty Images (Reuters) Shakib Al Hasan stroked the highest individual score for Bangladesh and combined with Mushfiqur Rahim in a record partnership on the second day of the first test against New Zealand at
the Basin Reserve yesterday. Shakib (217) and captain Mushfiqur (159) stubbornly denied New Zealand in perfect conditions at the Basin Reserve as they produced
a 359-run fifth-wicket partnership and batted their side into a position where they are unlikely to lose the game. The previous highest partnership for any wicket for Bangladesh
was the 312 by Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes for the first wicket against Pakistan at Khulna in April, 2015. Shakib brought up his double century, just the third by a Bangladeshi batsman,
when h e p u n c h e d a Colin de G randhomme delivery behind s quare for his 30th boundary, t h e n s u r p a s s e d Tamim’s record s core of 206 w ith a push for a single to mid-off. A weary Shakib eventually chopped a Neil Wagner delivery on about 15 minutes before the close of play before the visitors ended the day on 542 for seven, with Sabbir Rahman 10 not out after Mehedi Hasan was caught off the last ball for a duck. Thursday’s first day was disrupted by regular bouts of rain and then bad light, with the visitors l a y i n g a s o l i d foundation of 154-3 after being asked to bat on a green-tinged pitch. Shakib was on five when play resumed on Friday with Mominul Haque on 64. Mominul, however, did not add to his overnight score when he was caught by wicketkeeper BJ Watling off Tim Southee to reduce the visitors to 160-4, though that was N e w Z e a l a n d ’s o n l y
success until late in the final session. Both Shakib and Mushfiqur brought up their centuries before tea, with the former tucking a Wagner delivery off his legs for a single and the latter guiding a Southee ball down to third man for his 17th boundary. Shakib had a let off on 137 when he appeared to have been caught by a diving Watling down the leg side, but television replays showed the ball had momentarily touched the ground as the wicketkeeper landed and the batsman was recalled. He was also dropped by a diving Ross Taylor at backward point on 189 from Trent Boult, who eventually ended the pair ’s stand about 40 minutes before stumps when he had Mushfiqur caught behind by Watling. Ban g l a d e s h ’s previous record for the fifth wicket was 267 that M u s h f i q u r a n d Mohammad Ashraful scored against Sri Lanka in Galle in March, 2013. Scores: Bangladesh 542 for 7 (Shakib 217, Mushfiqur 159) v New Zealand.