Stand-in captain Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers scored undefeated fifties to guide South Africa to a healthy 231 for four wickets at tea on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Coming together with their side in trouble on 70-4, the pair dominated the afternoon with an aggressive unbroken 161-run partnership that put Sri Lanka on the back foot for the first time in the series.
Both batsmen looked to be positive, scoring runs freely against all the bowlers on a flat P. Saravanamuttu Oval pitch, including star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who was uncharacteristically expensive.
By the interval, Prince, who is leading the side in the absence of the injured Graeme Smith, was 86 not out from 142 balls having hit a total of 13 boundaries.
De Villiers, the more adventurous of the pair, finished unbeaten on 88 from 125 balls with 17 boundaries.
The partnership was a fifth-wicket record for South Africa against Sri Lanka, surpassing the 86 scored between Darryl Cullinan and Mark Boucher at Newlands, Cape Town in 2000/01.
Malinga strikes
Earlier, pace bowler Lasith Malinga had starred with the new ball as South Africa lost four wickets in the morning session.
Malinga dismissed opener Andrew Hall for a duck and left-hander Jacques Rudolph (13) during a fiery seven-over burst.
Malinga beat Hall with a series of outswingers before finding the outside edge in the fourth over.
Tillakaratne Dilshan poached a sharp catch in the slips.
Rudolph was later bowled by a full-length delivery that swung back through the gate.
Experienced left-armer Chaminda Vaas celebrated his return from a hamstring injury with a second-ball wicket as Herschelle Gibbs was trapped lbw for a duck by an inswinger.
Hashim Amla was then dropped on 17 as wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene was surprised by the extra pace and bounce being generated by Malinga.
Amla capitalised on his good fortune, leading a mini revival with a positive 40 from 47 deliveries, a cameo that included seven boundaries.
But Muralitharan, searching for the five wickets he needs to bring up 650 in Test cricket, dismissed Amla with an off break that pinned him lbw on the backfoot.
South Africa made one change to the team that lost the first Test by an innings and 153 runs, including veteran all rounder Shaun Pollock in place of fast bowler Andre Nel.
Fast bowler Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lanka’s best paceman in the first match, was forced out with a stiff thigh. – Reuters