Seam-bowler Dilhara Fernando and Muttiah Muralitharan took two wickets a piece on Sunday to boost Sri Lanka’s chances of a win in the first cricket Test against South Africa.
Resuming day four at 43 without loss in its second innings, South Africa progressed to 311 for four wickets at stumps on the fourth day, still trailing by 276 runs — with Ashwell Prince not out on 60 and Mark Boucher on 38.
The pair added a valuable 77-run partnership for the fifth wicket that halted South Africa’s slide in the final session.
South Africa, dismissed for 169 after winning the toss and batting first, need to bat out the remaining day with at least 90 overs and six wickets in hand to save the Test after Sri Lanka piled on 756 for five before declaring their first innings closed.
Fernando, who claimed four wickets in the first innings to help set Sri Lanka’s momentum, broke through in the seventh over after openers Jacques Rudolph (90) and Andrew Hall (64) batted through the first session for a gritty, 165-run stand for the first wicket.
Fernando had Rudolph caught at third slip by Chamara Kapugedera and six runs later trapped number-three batsman Hashim Amla lbw for two.
Hall was to depart later having made 64, ruled out lbw off Muralitharan, leaving the visitors struggling at 3-185.
Soon after tea, Muralitharan had AB de Villiers sweeping and trapped him lbw for 24 runs.
At stumps, Fernando had bowling figures 2-49 while Muralitharan recorded 2-83.
South Africa’s regular opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs, who remained in the dressing room for most of Sri Lanka’s innings because of a stomach complaint, is expected to bat at number seven.
Sri Lanka’s big first innings included a world-record partnership of 624 runs set by captain Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
On Saturday, Jayawardene came within 26 runs of West Indies batsman Brian Lara’s record 400 for the highest individual score in Test cricket, but he was dismissed for 374 runs — the best individual Test score for a Sri Lankan.
That surpassed the 340 scored by Sanath Jayasuriya against India in 1997.
Sangakkara scored 287. — Sapa-AP