Vernon Philander and co. rubbed salt into the Sri Lankan wounds by taking four wickets in quick time after declaring the innings setting a target of 507. At 130/4, Sri Lanka are virtually out of the contest and anything but a loss looks a bleak prospect.
South Africa scored at a rate of 4.32 as they looked for a speedy declaration. Their batsmen kept thumping the Lankan bowlers despite wickets falling at regular intervals. With a more than sufficient lead on board, the batsmen were focussed on just ballooning that lead to the point of declaration.
Sri Lanka looked in all sorts of trouble as Karunaratne and then Mendis fell to a nagging Philander. Rabada added another two to make it yet another poor day on the field for the tourists.
Here are the talking points from the day's play at Newlands.
#5 Elgar's first step towards consistency
Dean Elgar smacked a 129 in the first innings but he has hit centuries often only to produce a string of low scores after that in Tests. While he has been the second highest run-scorer in Tests for South Africa since 2015, Elgar hasn't embraced consistency.
In a rather curious decision, South Africa did not enforce a follow-on with a 286-run lead and opted to bat yet again, possibly to give their seamers some rest. It was also a good opportunity for Elgar to play with freedom after posting a hundred in his previous innings.
The gritty left-hander made it count with a 55 from 91 balls that included yet another half-century partnership with Cook, the third in this series. If anything, this is Elgar's first step towards consistency that the Proteas badly need from him.
#4 Hashim Amla throws away golden opportunity
Like Elgar, Amla too has been very inconsistent, of late. But unlike him, he has been a prolific scorer in the past, so much so that he was hailed as the epitome of consistency. The South African has, however, been in woeful touch of late.
His last half-century seems to have come a billion years ago and his tacky technique is coming under the scanner. With South Africa firmly in the driver's seat, it was a much needed free opportunity for Amla.
However, he was undone by a Lakmal special which nipped off the surface to catch his outside edge on its way to the keeper. His average had dropped to below 50 earlier in the series and with this duck in his kitty the free fall isn't stopping.
#3 Lakmal impresses yet again
Suranga Lakmal started this series with a bowling average of 47 and no five-wicket hauls in his whole career. He proved he is much better than his stats suggest in the first Test at Port Elizabeth but he needed to back it up with something good.
On a green Newlands surface, he remained in the shadows as the 19-year-old Lahiru Kumara stole the limelight with a scintillating six-for in the first innings. Lakmal was tidy and bowled well but couldn't reap much rewards.
In the second innings, with South Africa in search for some quick runs, Lakmal moved the ball around, dismissing Cook and Amla in the same over. He proceeded to remove Duminy and du Plessis to take his tally to four in the innings.
#2 Philander's burst
Vernon Philander is one tricky customer to deal with in conditions similar to the one in Newlands. He can make the ball seam and nip around, while bowling a nagging line. Despite his military pace, the lower-order all-rounder has enough tricks up his sleeve to compensate for his lack of pace.
In the second innings, Philander started from around the wicket to the left-handed Karunaratne but seeing there was extravagant seam movement on offer, he switched back to over the wicket and the move immediately reaped rewards. Karunaratne edged one onto his stumps to end his stay at the crease.
Philander continued to test Lanka's patience, slanting one outside the off-stump of Kusal Mendis, who has been driving and edging far too often in this series. The trend continued and he edged to Elgar at third slip.
#1 Kusal Mendis struggles
Kusal Mendis, the new no. 3 batsman for Sri Lanka had an extremely good start to his Test career, making runs in England and then a big hundred against Australia at home. However, his South African tour has been a disastrous one thus far.
He has been driving away from the body without getting close to the ball and with little foot movement. It is a dangerous approach to adopt on pitches that favour swing and seam. Against an attack like the one South Africa possesses, the option is best kept hidden.
In this innings, Mendis once again edged Philander while trying to drive outside his off-stump. With an impossible target to get and Sri Lanka already one down, it was an unwarranted shot by Kusal Mendis. Matthews and Graham Ford may need to have a bit of a chat with their new no. 3.
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