Thunderstorm interrupts Sri Lankan fight-back at Centurion
Charlie Austin - 18 November 2002
A spectacular thunderstorm interrupted a Sri Lankan fight-back on the fourth afternoon of the second Test at SuperSport Park on Monday, frustrating the visitors who need to win this Test to level the series.
Marvan Atapattu's side had responded strongly in their second innings after
bowling out the South Africans for 448 in the morning with left-hander Kumar
Sangakkara scoring a brilliant boundary-studded 89 from 132 balls.
But shortly after the dismissal of Sangakkara, who was athletically caught down the leg-side by Mark Boucher for the second consecutive Test, the players were forced off the field for bad light.
Sri Lanka were 180 for three with a 55 runs lead. Although play will start half an hour early on Tuesday, Sri Lanka do not appear to have sufficient time to build a sufficient lead and then bowl out a long South African batting line-up.
South Africa, however, believe they can force a result having just claimed the crucial wicket of Sangakkara, ending a 119-run partnership with Mahela Jayawardene that was shifting the initiative towards the tourists.
"If we can strike early tomorrow morning and break this partnership then they have a long tail and we can chase down a target in the second innings," said Shaun Pollock afterwards.
But he warned against complacency: "You can't rule out anything in cricket. However, the Sri Lankans will have to bat quickly tomorrow and be inventive with their declaration if they are going to have a chance."
Earlier in the day, Pollock had narrowly missed out on a third Test century,
left stranded on 99 not out when last man Ntini was caught at mid-off attempting an ambitious lofted drive.
Pollock looked crestfallen, ignoring Ntini as he marched back to the dressing room, but he had contributed to his unfortunate fate by deciding not to shield Ntini from the strike and taking a first ball single against Chaminda Vaas.
He had started the morning in aggressive fashion, taking the attack to Muttiah Muralitharan whom he reverse-swept for four and then slog-swept mightily for six to move within touching distance of his hundred.
If Pollock had scored a hundred it would have been the third time that he had passed three figures at this venue, after 111 against Sri Lanka on their last tour and 113* against the Indians in a warm-up game.
He finished with 99 from 170 balls, having hit eight fours and two sixes during an innings that ensured his side a valuable first innings lead by the time they were finally bowled out for 448, an innings that started on Saturday morning and spanned a total of 166.3 overs.
Pollock thus becomes the fourth batsman in Test history to be left stranded on 99, after England fast bowler Alex Tudor (1999), opener Geoff Boycott (1979-80) and Steve Waugh (1994-95).
Left-armer Vaas finished the innings with two for 81 from 33.3 overs and
Muralitharan ended up bowling 57 overs for his two wickets.
The Sri Lankan innings had then started disastrously when rookie opener Jehan Mubarak (15), so impressive in the first innings, was adjudged to have edged a catch to Mark Boucher off Makhaya Ntini. Replays showed clear daylight between bat and ball.
Stand-in captain Marvan Atapattu (22) – cracked on the helmet early on in his innings during a brisk new-ball burst from Ntini – then became the 13th Sri Lankan in the series to be dismissed between 20 and 50 when he flashed a catch to Boucher.
Sangakkara and Jayawardene were given a searching examination by the fresh
South Africa fast bowlers, who had spent the best part of two days with their feet up in the dressing room. But the pair gradually settled and in the half hour before tea they pushed their foot down on the accelerator.
Jayawardene nearly threw his wicket away when Pollock grabbed his helmet in jest when the right-hander top edged an attempted hook. Furious with the South African captain for touching him, he lost his cool and clearly distracted he could have been run out shortly afterwards whilst ambling through for a leg bye.
The umpires were forced to intervene, asking both sides to calm down. In the
event the tea interval allowed Jayawardene to regain his composure and he
finished the day unbeaten on 40. Tillakaratne, the first innings centurion, is yet to score.
© CricInfo Ltd.
