South Africa vs Sri Lanka Highlights, 1st Test, Day 4: South Africa beat Lanka by 233 runs

Kagiso Rabada to Angelo Mathews, Similar ball, once again, Mathews commits into the push but then, he tries to take the bat away. Is still squared up as the ball beats the outside edge.

Kagiso Rabada to Angelo Mathews, On a good length, outside off, Angelo Mathews pushes at it away from his body and misses.

Gerald Coetzee to Dinesh Chandimal, FOUR! A boundary to end the over! Yet again, a bit of width, outside off, on a back of a length, Dinesh Chandimal frees his arms and slices it well over gully for another boundary.

Gerald Coetzee to Dinesh Chandimal, A bit short and on off, Dinesh Chandimal dabs it to gully.

Gerald Coetzee to Dinesh Chandimal, FOUR! Width offered and Dinesh Chandimal pounces on it! Outside off, on a length, Dinesh Chandimal waits for the ball and cuts it over gully for a boundary.

Gerald Coetzee to Angelo Mathews, On a length, at the stumps, Angelo Mathews tucks it to mid on for one.

Angelo Mathews walks in at number 4, replacing Pathum Nissanka.

Gerald Coetzee to Pathum Nissanka, OUT! LBW! Gerald Coetzee comes back and gets the big wicket of Pathum Nissanka! His luck fades away and South Africa get two! He lands it on a hard length, angling it in, on middle and leg, Pathum Nissanka shuffles a bit towards his off side and looks to work it on the leg side but fails to get bat on the ball. Gets hit right on the front pad and just above the knee roll. The umpire gives it out but Pathum Nissanka decides to challenge it. The UltraEdge shows nothing and the Ball Tracking comes up as three reds! The onfield call of OUT stays and Sri Lanka are 38/2, needing another 478 for victory!

Gerald Coetzee to Pathum Nissanka, On a good length, on off, Pathum Nissanka steers it to point. 

Adding more to the positive thought process, there is a thin line between being positive and being reckless. Sri Lanka were certainly confident entering this game, but one feels that the batters were a bit too loose in that first innings. You have switched on to a different continent, so you need to get adjusted to the conditions, especially the bounce. For that, you need to show some patience and hang in there, before playing your shots. Here too, they are going at more than 4 an over, but the will to stay there or just defend is not being seen.

Kagiso Rabada to Pathum Nissanka, Full and on leg, Pathum Nissanka looks to clip it off his pads but misses by the pace behind the ball. The ball clips him on the pads and rolls across as the batters take a single. Called Leg bye!

Kagiso Rabada to Pathum Nissanka, On a length, on middle, Pathum Nissanka keeps it out.

Kagiso Rabada to Pathum Nissanka, Would you believe it? Kagiso Rabada gets the wicket off Pathum Nissanka and the third umpire chips in to say it's a NO BALL! Puts in that extra effort and hits the deck hard, on a shorter length, angling it down leg, Pathum Nissanka on a ball that he should have let go tries to pull and gets a glove that goes to Kyle Verreynne who takes it well to his left. The Proteas start to celebrate and Nissanka starts to make his way out but all that for absolutely nothing. They now show the giant screen and there is some doubt among the players. The first replay seems to indicate that Rabada's foot might have just landed inside the line and Kyle Verreynne starts to protest. Temba Bavuma now has a chat with the umpire and they are almost in a process of taking a review for this. But umpire Saikat clears that, saying that they cannot take a review based on what they see on the giant screen. From what we can see, Rabada's foot landed on the line and the line belongs to the umpire. Sanath Jayasuriya heaves a sigh of relief in the dressing room.

Kagiso Rabada to Pathum Nissanka, A stifled appeal for caught behind and the umpire shakes his head. Oh hang on, Temba Bavuma sends it upstairs. This is short and over middle and off, Pathum Nissanka looks to pull but is early on his shot as the ball goes past the outside edge. The UltraEdge shows nothing and South Africa lose another review. However, Kagiso Rabada is fired up and did have a word or two to say to Pathum Nissanka!

Kagiso Rabada to Dinesh Chandimal, Angling into middle and leg, on a length, Dinesh Chandimal clips it to through mid-wicket for a single.

Kagiso Rabada to Dinesh Chandimal, Good length, on off, Dinesh Chandimal punches it to mid off.

Kagiso Rabada to Pathum Nissanka, A risky single! Hard length, on off, Pathum Nissanka just taps it in front of short mid-wicket and the batters set for a quick single. Bavuma charges to the ball, collects it well and throws at the stump with an under-arm push but fails to hit the target at the striker's end. If that had hit, Dinesh Chandimal would have been a goner!

Batting under pressure is like batting on quicksand. The harder you try, the deeper you get sucked in. That's why it is important to recognize the importance of the Bavuma-Stubbs partnership. They started slowly, but kept rotating the strike. Once they bedded in, then they started playing their shots. Playing positive cricket is not just scoring quick runs. It is exhibiting positive defensive technique and showing confidence in letting balls go, making the bowlers think what different can they do.

Gerald Coetzee to Dinesh Chandimal, Good length, on middle, Dinesh Chandimal tucks it to the leg side. 13 runs off Gerald Coetzee's first over!

Gerald Coetzee to Pathum Nissanka, Short of a length, on off, Pathum Nissanka dabs it in front of point and gets a single.

Gerald Coetzee to Pathum Nissanka, FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries and that makes it three in this over already! A bit fuller and on middle and leg, Pathum Nissanka flicks it beautifully off his pads and gets it over mid-wicket.

Gerald Coetzee to Pathum Nissanka, FOUR! Cannot bowl there to Pathum! Short and on middle, not very short to trouble the batter. Pathum Nissanka reads the length early and pulls it well over square leg for a boundary. 

Gerald Coetzee to Pathum Nissanka, Much better this time from Coetzee! Back of a length, over off, Pathum Nissanka blocks.

Gerald Coetzee to Pathum Nissanka, FOUR! Coetzee is greeted into the attack with a boundary! A genuine loosener from Gerald Coetzee as he bowls this wider on off and fuller, asking to be hit. Pathum Nissanka reaches out and slices it through cover for a boundary. 

It will be important on how Sri Lanka approach this target. Time and tide are against them but that does not mean they should throw in the towel. They can still play for pride and gain a lot if they bat positively in this innings. The second Test match is scheduled on Thursday, 5th December, 2024 in Gqeberha and say, if this game ends tomorrow, leaving one day for travel, it literally leaves them 2-3 days of planning for the next game. So there actually isn't much time. Whatever you can learn, do it now, in this innings and carry on the momentum into the next Test. Yes, the pitch will be different there but confidence is something which can never be defined theoretically. Even if batters cross 30s, everyone that is, till number 6, string in useful stands, you can kill time and gain a lot of confidence. Gerald Coetzee into the attack now.

Kagiso Rabada to Dinesh Chandimal, Hard length, into middle and leg, Dinesh Chandimal tucks it to the leg side.

Kagiso Rabada to Dinesh Chandimal, FOUR! Beautiful shot! KG goes a bit fuller and on off, Dinesh Chandimal leans ahead and times his drive to bits of perfection to get it past mid off to his left. 

Kagiso Rabada to Dinesh Chandimal, Full, on off, Dinesh Chandimal pushes it in front of cover. Pathum Nissanka looks to sneak in a single but is sent back and rightly so! The last thing Sri Lanka would want at this moment is a run out!

Kagiso Rabada to Dinesh Chandimal, Outside off, on a fuller length. The ball shoots a bit more off the deck and shapes away as well. Dinesh Chandimal initially looks to poke at it but does well to withdraw his shot.

Kagiso Rabada to Dinesh Chandimal, On a length, on off, Dinesh Chandimal blocks. 

Kagiso Rabada to Pathum Nissanka, Good length, on middle, Pathum Nissanka taps it to Temba Bavuma at mid-wicket and steals a quick run.

Kagiso Rabada to Pathum Nissanka, NO BALL! KG oversteps again! Steams in and bowls it nicely on a good length, on middle, Pathum Nissanka tucks it to mid-wicket and sets off for the run. He is sent back just in time as the fielder collects the ball and hits the stumps at the striker's end. 

Marco Jansen to Pathum Nissanka, Very full, on off, Pathum Nissanka nudges it to the right of point and gets a single.

Marco Jansen to Pathum Nissanka, Hard length, just outside off, Pathum Nissanka hops back and punches it off the inner half of his bat to mid off.

Marco Jansen to Pathum Nissanka, Jansen drags the length down and keeps it over off, Pathum Nissanka dabs it down the deck, back to the bowler.

Marco Jansen to Pathum Nissanka, On a good length, on off, Pathum Nissanka blocks it with real confidence, getting right behind the line. Holds his pose as well!

Marco Jansen to Dinesh Chandimal, And again! This is great running! Fuller this time from Jansen, on middle, Dinesh Chandimal pushes it to cover and gets off the mark with a quick single.

Marco Jansen to Pathum Nissanka, Tap and run! On a length, on off, Pathum Nissanka just knocks it in front of point and steals a quick single.

Kagiso Rabada to Dinesh Chandimal, Landed around off, on a good length, Dinesh Chandimal defends watchfully. 3-1-10-1 for Rabada.

Dinesh Chandimal walks in at number 3, replacing Dimuth Karunaratne.

Kagiso Rabada to Dimuth Karunaratne, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! A boundary previous ball boosted his confidence but a wicket next ball has boosted Rabada's confidence! Uncharacteristically loose from Dimuth Karunaratne. Rabada keeps this much closer to the bat but the line is well away from the off stump. Karunaratne reaches out for it, looking to push but only manages a thick outside edge. It flies straight to Tristan Stubbs at third slip who makes no mistake. Karunaratne departs for 4 and Sri Lanka are 12/1, needing another 504 for victory! 32.1 overs still left on Day 3.

Kagiso Rabada to Dimuth Karunaratne, FOUR! VIOLENCE! That will boost Karunaratne's confidence. Short from Rabada, outside off, Dimuth Karunaratne picks it up in a trice and pulls it over mid-wicket. Never looked to keep it down at any stage.

Kagiso Rabada to Dimuth Karunaratne, A short ball, around the hips, Karunaratne looks to tuck it away, but then thinks better of it. Just about manages to avoid the ball hitting the glove.

Kagiso Rabada to Dimuth Karunaratne, Around middle and off, angling away, Dimuth Karunaratne defends solidly.

Kagiso Rabada to Pathum Nissanka, Outside off, pushed through point for a single.

Marco Jansen to Dimuth Karunaratne, Outside off, comes in a long way, let through.

Marco Jansen to Dimuth Karunaratne, Around off, defended watchfully again by Dimuth.

Marco Jansen to Dimuth Karunaratne, Full and straight, Karunaratne defends watchfully.

Marco Jansen to Dimuth Karunaratne, Around middle, Dimuth Karunaratne pushes it towards mid on.

Marco Jansen to Pathum Nissanka, SPECTACULAR EFFORT FROM KYLE VERREYNNE! He is a hard man and is considering it as an opportunity lost. But it would be very harsh to call it a drop. A short ball, around middle and leg, Pathum Nissanka went for the pull and got a bit of a glove onto it. Perhaps that's why, the ball didn't fly away. It still went high and the keeper, Kyle Verreynne leapt full stretch to his left. Tried to stick out his right hand and the glove did touch the ball, but he couldn't quite hang on. Gets up and instantly shakes his head, disappointed with himself. A single taken.