SA vs SL | Rickelton ton and Bavuma resilience keep game tightly balanced on Day 1 in Gqeberha

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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South Africa racked up 269 runs on the opening day of the second Test for the loss of seven wickets after choosing to bat first at St George's Park. Ryan Rickelton (101) and Temba Bavuma (78) put up an innings defining 133-run stand while Lahiru Kumara topped the charts for Lanka with three scalps.

Brief score: SA 269/7 [Rickelton 101, Bavuma 78; Lahiru 13-2-54-3] at Stumps on Day 1

Asitha Fernando got Sri Lanka off to a dream start with an inswinging yorker that trapped Ton de Zorzi plumb in front and sent him on his way for a golden duck. Lahiru Kumara added to the misery shortly after by crashing through Aiden Markram's booming drive after a promising 20 and added a second victim in Tristan Stubbs when the all-format batter tried to go hard at a widish delivery. With the team reeling at 44/3, Temba Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton picked up the slack to guide the team safely through to Lunch at 82/3 while looking as comfortable as ever.

The run-scoring affair continued after the break as Bavuma played aggressor while Rickelton kept the Lions at bay, the duo bringing up their respective half-centuries in a 133-run stand. Frustrated by the lack of penetration, the visiting quicks resroted to a bouncer barrage at the stroke of Tea and the plan reaped dividends in no time when Bavuma top-edged a 121ks Asitha bumper straight to Kusal Mendis behind the stumps.

Resuming after Tea at 179/4, David Bedingham experienced an adventurous 19-ball stay in the centre where he top-edged the ball twice only to be dropped before charging down the stumps against Prabath Jayasuriya and getting his leg-stump shattered. Meanwhile, Rickelton kept plugging away at the other end and in Kyle Verreyne found another reliable partner to stitch together a partnership. The two added 77-runs for the sixth wicket, featuring a maiden Test ton for the former off 232 deliveries. However, in the last few minutes of the day, Lahiru managed to get the centurion caught at gully before a Vishwa Fernando ripper cleaned up Marco Jansen to signal the day's end, with Verreyne unbeaten on 48 at Stumps.

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Maiden one

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