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December 30, 2011

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Sri Lanka closes in on test victory

SRI Lanka was closing on its first test victory in South Africa as the hosts collapsed to 136 for six at tea on the fourth day of the second test in Durban yesterday.

Jacques Kallis completed the first pair of his test career and South Africa, set 450 to win, lost five wickets for 50 runs in the afternoon session.

Kallis faced six balls without getting off the mark before top-edging a sweep at left-arm spinner Rangana Herath into his helmet, from where the ball looped to short-leg.

Kallis, playing in his 149th test, was initially given not out by umpire Steve Davis but Sri Lanka had the decision overturned on appeal.

Jacques Rudolph (22) had chased the fourth ball after lunch from Thisara Perera, edging a wide ball into the slips where Mahela Jayawardene took another fine catch.

Hashim Amla looked set to play a major innings as he reached 51, but he dashed off for a quick single to mid-on off Herath, which was turned down by Ashwell Prince, leaving him stranded.

Prince was out for seven half-an-hour later when a lifter from Dilhara Fernando forced him to edge a catch into the slips and Mark Boucher battled hard for being trapped lbw by Herath, also for seven.

AB de Villiers was waging a lone struggle to save the game as he went into tea on 17 not out, with Dale Steyn on one.

Fernando, with two for 15 in eight overs, and Herath, who had taken two for 37 in 17 overs, were causing most of the problems for the South African batsmen.

Rudolph and Amla had taken South Africa to 86 for one at lunch after being asked to chase a world-record 450 for victory to prevent Sri Lanka levelling the three-match series.

South Africa comfortably reached 37 without loss before paceman Fernando extracted steep bounce and forced captain Graeme Smith (26) to edge a slip catch to Jayawardene.

Earlier, Steyn took two of Sri Lanka's last three wickets as the tourists added just 23 runs to their overnight total before they were dismissed for 279 in their second innings.

Steyn ended with figures of five for 73 off 20 overs to complete the 17th five-wicket haul of his test career.



 

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