South Africa vs Sri Lanka Live Cricket Score 1st Test, Day 3: Follow Scorecard & Match Action From Durban – News18

45.5 – No run.

45.4 – No run.

45.3 – Full, on middle, Tristan Stubbs defends.

45.2 – Full and on off, Stubbs looks for a sweep behind square on the leg side but the ball bounces a bit more to go past the bat and hit him on the chest.

45.1 – Quicker and fuller, at the stumps, Tristan Stubbs makes a block.

44.6 – No run.

44.5 – Cramps the batter in for any room, with the angle coming in and some extra bounce off a length, Temba Bavuma hops back and gets pegged high on the waist.

44.4 – Very full, at the stumps, almost a yorker, Temba Bavuma jams it out to mid on off the inner half of the bat.

44.3 – Angles it into the batter on a length but serves it down leg. Tristan Stubbs leaves it alone and the keeper fails to get a hand despite a dive to his left. The batters collect a bye off it.

44.2 – No run.

44.1 – No run.

43.6 – A bit more flight on this one, on off, fuller in length, Temba Bavuma defends.

Batsman_1 : Temba Bavuma 31(64)

Batsman_2 : Tristan Stubbs 19(56)

Bowler : Prabath Jayasuriya 2/51(17)

Over : 44

Run : 2

Wicket : 0

Score : 142/3

43.5 – Full and on off, Bavuma skips down to the pitch of the ball and stabs it down the deck.

43.4 – Tossed right up, on off, Temba Bavuma makes a good front foot block.

43.3 – 2 runs.

43.2 – No run.

43.1 – Flighted full, on middle, Temba Bavuma keeps it out.

42.6 – Not a good sight if you are Sri Lanka.

Batsman_1 : Tristan Stubbs 19(56)

Batsman_2 : Temba Bavuma 29(58)

Bowler : Lahiru Kumara 0/20(9)

Over : 43

Run : 2

Wicket : 0

Score : 140/3

42.5 – Good use of the shoulder by Kumara. Bangs it on a shorter length, outside off, generates good bounce as a result, but Stubbs is equal to the task. Gets on his toes, rises to the bounce and punches the ball through the covers.

42.4 – 1 run.

42.3 – The length is stretched forward now, but the line is still down the leg side. Bavuma looks to flick but misses. The keeper, Kusal Mendis, dives to his left and makes a good stop.

42.2 – Down the leg side, a bouncer, Temba Bavuma ducks.

42.1 – 50-RUN STAND UP. Excellent batting. There was a brief period last evening when the home side lost Mulder and Markram in quick succession but this pair has exercised all demons of a collapse. It is a short ball, around off, good bounce, but Tristan Stubbs uses his height and dabs it beside him on the leg side for a single.

41.6 – No run.

41.5 – Ooohh… well bowled.

41.4 – A tad short, around middle, the skipper goes back and nudges it towards short leg.

41.3 – The arm ball, around middle, Bavuma gets half a stride and blocks it to the leg side.

41.2 – Fuller, around off, Temba Bavuma defends.

41.1 – Landed around middle, a touch short, Tristan Stubbs punches it past the bowler to long off for a single.

Good news on Wiaan Mulder.

40.6 – Nice movement.

Batsman_1 : Temba Bavuma 28(50)

Batsman_2 : Tristan Stubbs 17(52)

Bowler : Lahiru Kumara 0/18(8)

Over : 41

Run : 5

Wicket : 0

Score : 137/3

40.5 – Landed outside off, similar to where the third ball in this over pitched, but this one stays a touch low. TB watches it carefully and defends.

40.4 – Down the leg side, extra bounce again, Temba cannot get that pull shot away.

40.3 – No run.

40.2 – FOUR! Terrific delivery but excellent response too!

40.1 – On a good length, around middle, Tristan Stubbs looks to work it away but misses. Gets hit on the pads and as it dribbles away on the leg side, the batters pinch a single. Leg bye signalled.

We are all set then, to begin the third day of this fast-paced Test. Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs walk out to resume their partnership from 43. The pair started slowly, but as they got set, confidence started to ooze through. The team might be on top, but the individuals need something to showcase their talent. Bavuma is on track for twin half centuries at least, while Stubbs, Bedingham and Verreynne would be expected to score useful runs. The Sri Lankans get into a huddle and then disperse, with smiles on their faces. Nice to see that. Shoulders were dropping in the field last evening and we hope that they come fired up this morning, to just keep this match interesting.

Just a reminder –  We shall be having extended sessions today as well. (All timings in GMT) Session 1 – 7.30 am – 9.45 am | Session 2 – 10.25 am – 12.40 pm | Session 3 – 3 pm – 5 pm, with an additional half hour to consider the overs pending. 98 overs will be allotted today as well and if we get something similar to what happened yesterday, as in 19 wickets falling, this Test match may not even see a weekend. But just that, on primary observation, we don’t see that happening, with the bowlers struggling to pick up wickets in this dig. Sri Lanka will be downcast but their bowlers have given it their all. They have shown character and that’s all one can ask, in a state of gloom. If they can continue to show that, who knows, perhaps, today could be their day.

While we did mention about Sri Lanka being shot out for 42, one main man responsible for that was Marco Jansen. His 7/13 in 6.5 overs, his best in an innings in Test cricket, saw no answers from the visiting side, who were caught between defending and attacking. Interestingly, his first three wickets fell after no balls. His first and third victim fell immediately after a no ball while his second fell a ball later. He will be eager to bowl again, take another 5-fer, but will understand that bowling second is not going to be easy. The pitch is getting flatter and barring the odd uneven traces of bounce, taking wickets in the final innings will be tough. For that precise reason, the Proteas need a minimum of 400 runs on the board as a target.

In all practicality, this morning session is the last straw of dice for the Lankans. If they manage to run through the middle order like yesterday, they can harbour hopes of restricting the Saffas under 200-220 maybe and consequentially, look at chasing not more than 360, perhaps. While that itself is a daunting target, a decent session for South Africa would mean that the lead would cross 400 in this session itself. If that happens, one would assume that the water has flown under the bridge for the Lankans.