Twitter Reactions: 19-wicket day ends with South Africa on top against Sri Lanka on Day 2

Hosts South Africa ended the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in the ascendancy, on a day which saw a whopping 19 wickets falling in tandem. Resuming the day on a score of 80/4 with play being cut short on the opening day due to rain and hence a wet outfield, the Proteas would have hoped for an improved performance with the bat. However, Kyle Verreynne was the first batter to be dismissed shortly after the commencement of proceedings.

Prabhat Jayasuriya took wickets in successive overs to leave South Africa seven-down. Skipper Temba Bavuma brought up a well-deserved half-century after being stranded on 49 for a total of 40 deliveries, the majority of it being at the non-striker’s end. Bavuma getting dismissed for a valiant 70-run knock minutes before the original Lunch break saw the session getting extended for a duration of half-an-hour. The host’s innings folded soon after with them only managing to put on 191 on the board.

The first 10 overs of the Lankan essay saw Marco Jansen cause mayhem, as three of the first four top-order batters fell to his exquisite channels. The dents continued with Sri Lanka losing four wickets with their score on 32 to be reduced in total disarray. It was courtesy of a couple of streaky mishits from Lahiru Kumara that they ended with 42 to their name, with Jansen being the wrecker-in-chief, returning career-best figures of 7/13 in 6.5 overs. 

South Africa‘s second innings started off in a much more composed manner. Both Tony de Zorzi and Aiden Markram looked comfortable in the middle before Jayasuriya bagged the former to achieve his 100th dismissal in Test cricket. In a move which caught many by surprise, Wiaan Mulder was sent ahead of the recognized batters in the side. He departed after adding 15 precious runs to the total.

Within a short span of time, Markram was beaten by a delivery which went through him to leave him three runs short of a fifty. In the end, South Africa ended the day in a commanding position with a lead of 281 runs, with Sri Lanka requiring a whole lot of catching up to do in the remainder of the game.

Here’s how the fans reacted to Day 2 of the first Test between SA and SL:

Most wickets fell in a day’s play in South Africa (since 2000)

23 – SA vs IND, Cape Town, 2024 (day 1)
23 – SA vs AUS, Cape Town, 2011 (day 2)
20 – SA vs IND, Jo’burg, 2006 (day 2)
19 – SA vs BAN, Bloemfontein, 2008 (day 2)
19 – SA vs SL, Durban, 2024 (day 2)** #SAvSL #SAvsSL

— Shashikant Singh (@shashi_CB) November 28, 2024

SA vs SL – Day 2 – SA ka second innings start hokar 3 wickets bhi gir gaya 😳😳#SAvsSL

— vishal kumar (@vishalsah1986) November 28, 2024

Test match in Durban.
SA vs SL
When such collapse happens,few of the players have to have abnormal braveness to neutralize and concur the situation.

— lalantha fonseka (@LalanthaFonseka) November 28, 2024

Decent figures from Jansen in 1st test – SA vs SL

— Interested Onlooker (@michaelsnape) November 28, 2024

Not very difficult if we win 3 games out of 5.
If NZ lose atleast 1 out of 3 & SL winning atleast 1 game out of 2 against AUS at home. Then ind vs SA final on cards. If my guess is correct then Most likely ind will play 3 finals against SA in 1 yr gap incl CT.

— Yaswanth (@yash91112) November 28, 2024