Sri Lanka head to Johannesburg, a venue notorious for pace and bounce, and one where the visitors were expected to find the going tough. They have already lost the series, rather comprehensively, and all they play for in the third Test of the series is their pride.
Sri Lanka have bowled much better than they were expected to with 19-year-old Lahiru Kumara and Suranga Lakmal among the wickets. But their batting has fared pathetically against the South African seamers and even their spinner, Keshav Maharaj.
If they are to take anything out of the first two Tests, it is how reckless and impatient they have been with the willow. Their batting line-up is relatively young but that is no excuse for some of the shots that were displayed by their top order.
Going into Johannesburg, South Africa will miss Kyle Abbott, who has been instrumental for them in recent times but they have able replacements waiting on the sidelines. But Sri Lanka would be hoping that the absence of a key bowler affects the rhythm of the attack.
All said and done, the hard yards have to come from their batsmen if they are to finish the Tests with any sort of pride. Let us take a glance at how this Lankan line-up can counter the Proteas threat on a pitch tailor-made for the home pace bowlers.
#5 Start patiently with the bat
This is something Sri Lanka have done reasonably well on this tour thanks to their openers, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva. More often than not, the duo gave Sri Lanka a stable platform despite adversity striking in the form of three phenomenal pace bowlers at the peak of their powers.
Kaushal Silva has been impressive and Karunaratne has stood by him to offer some early resistance. But the duo, despite consuming enough overs to rub off that shine from the new ball, have not put on enough runs on board to make South Africa panic.
Karunaratne has been guilty of driving away from his body to play on to his stumps and Silva has fallen to the LBW trap more than once in the series. But the openers seem like the only ones to get a hang of the conditions and this puts more onus on them to perform better with each game.
#4 Angelo Mathews needs to come to the party
Mathews has struggled with bat and ball in this series after returning from injury. Given that he is the skipper of the side and the most experienced batsman in the line-up, he needs to put a price on his wicket.
He has been loose with the willow despite getting starts. The all-rounder has a pretty good record against the Proteas in all conditions but has failed to marry consistency on this tour. He needs to carry on from his starts and get a big score to put less pressure on a fairly new looking middle order.
The skipper has also lost considerable pace with the ball and coming in as a first change bowler with that kind of trait, it is difficult to contain the Proteas batsmen. He should leave the bowling duties to his primary four bowlers and act as a holding bowler with intermittent spells alone.
#3 Contain Quinton de Kock
De Kock has been in blazing form for the Proteas, helping them out of a hole more than once in the series. The wicketkeeper-batsman has played freely and scored quickly to counter attack the Lankan bowlers.
While containing someone of the calibre and instincts of De Kock is easier said than done, Lanka might do well to glance through his weaknesses. The southpaw has been good against Rangana Herath but not as dominant as against the seam bowlers. On the other hand, he has absolutely milked De Silva, who as an off-spinner against a leftie has been tried repeatedly against the southpaw.
Sri Lanka could try to contain De Kock early in his innings with Herath on one end and Lakmal on the other. Lakmal has been Lanka's most consistent seamer and has moved the ball both ways. If these two can tie down de Kock early, the wicketkeeper-batsman might just try something quirky.
#2 Bat like Dean Elgar
Matthews had asked his batsmen to take a cue out of Dean Elgar's approach after his century and half-century at Newlands. He left a lot of balls and was patient in his approach, pouncing on anything short and wide, as and when it came.
The Sri Lankan captain is possibly right as the Lankans have failed to spend enough time at the crease. Many of their batsmen went after full-length deliveries seaming away early in the innings, only to edge to the keeper or the cordon.
They need to leave as many balls and spend enough time at the crease to get used to the pace and bounce on the wicket. Once settled in, Johannesburg is a suitable venue for batsmen, giving good value for shots. They can definitely take a leaf out of Elgar's approach in Newlands.
#1 Not getting carried away by pace and bounce at Johannesburg
The Johannesburg wicket is infamous for tempting visiting seam bowlers to bowl short at the batsman. Given that it is 6000 feet above sea level, the ball carries a fair distance when hit and bowling short can only lead to disaster.
The famous Bullring has an intimidating atmosphere and Sri Lanka need to overcome that and not get carried away by the bounce on offer. Much like the WACA in Australia, despite the grassy, bouncy pitch, batsmen revel once set here.
Finding the right length to bowl on this wicket should be at the top of the Sri Lankan bowler's bucket list. Too short can only lead to quick run scoring and the quicker the young Lankan attack learns that the lesser damage will be done by the host batsmen.
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