South Africa vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, preview and predictions: New year, new beginning as both teams resume rivalry in 2017

Cape Town has been a happy hunting ground for the hosts against the Asian teams. They have never lost a Test at this ground against any team from the Indian sub-continent.

South Africa and Sri Lanka are set to resume their Test rivalry in 2017 with the second Test of the three-match series commencing at Cape Town on Monday. The two teams will look to have a winning start to the year as they play the first Test of 2017. The first Test of the series, which started on the Boxing Day at Port Elizabeth, was won comprehensively by the hosts. South Africa did not put any foot wrong in the game barring their failure with the bat in the first innings, where they were bowled out for 286. But post that, they did nothing wrong as their bowlers restricted Sri Lankan batsmen in both the innings and their batsmen led by Stephen Cook put runs on the board in second innings, thus setting up a 206-run win.

Hero of South Africa’s win was opener Cook, who scored a fifty and a hundred in the match to earn the Man-of-the-Match award. He was ably supported by his opening partner Dean Elgar, who scored 45 and 52 in the two innings in same order. South Africa’s middle-order also came good in the match as the likes of Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis got runs in the game. Quinton de Kock’s contribution lower down the order was crucial too, as he got runs in both the innings. Barring Temba Bavuma, who scored 3 and 8 in the game, all the batsmen came good, which is a big positive for the hosts heading into the second Test.

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Live Cricket Scorecard, South Africa vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test at Cape Town

On the bowling front too, it was a collective effort by the South Africans as all the bowlers were amongst the wickets. While Vernon Philander led the attack with a five-wicket haul in the first innings, likes of Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj also chipped in with wickets throughout the game. With a thumping win, it is highly unlikely the hosts will shake up the XI and make any changes.

Sri Lanka on the other hand will have a lot of areas to address. Their top order failed completely in the first innings. Skipper Angelo Matthews and Dinesh Chandimal, the two most experienced batsmen in the side, did get starts but failed to convert them into big scores. The young and inexperienced batting order was expected to struggle and hence it was important for the two senior pros to guide them. They will look to lead from the front and hope for a better show in the second Test. Apart from them, openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva, who did well in the second innings, will also hope to surpass that performance and get big scores in the game.

Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva are other two players to look out for, who will look to dig in and bat big. But the big question Sri Lanka need to address will be who to play at vital No.3 position, where Kusal Perera has proved to be a failure. Experienced player Upul Tharanga may get a look in at his expense with Chandimal already keeping wickets.

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On the bowling front, Sri Lanka might look to make a few changes. Barring Suranga Lakmal, who registered his first five-for in the first innings, no other bowler stepped up and shared responsibility. As a result, South Africa batted out Sri Lanka with a superlative performance in the second innings. The Lankans will hope the pacers to do well and also rely heavily on Rangana Herath, their spin ace, who failed to come good in the first Test.

Coming to the second Test, the Newlands, Cape Town has been a happy hunting ground for the hosts against the Asian teams. They have never lost a Test at this ground against any team from the Indian sub-continent. Moreover, in the three Tests they have played against Sri Lanka at this venue, they have thrashed the team from the island nation in all three of them. There seems to be no respite this time around as well, as the pitch at Newlands for the second Test is expected to provide seam and bounce for first two days. If Sri Lanka do not regroup themselves quickly and fix the problem areas, another sound thrashing awaits them at Cape Town.

Squads:

South Africa Test squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Stephen Cook, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock (wk), Jean-Paul Duminy, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada,

Sri Lanka Test squad: Angelo Mathews (c), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Dhananjaya de Silva, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Suranga Lakmal, Dilruwan Perera, RanganaHerath, Vikum Sanjaya

Time: 10.00 local | 08.00 GMT | 13.30 IST

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