South Africa were bowled out for 235 on day one of the first Test against Sri Lanka with Vishwa Fernando ‘s 4-62 doing the most damage. Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bowl first and the seamer took full advantage of an attack-friendly pitch at Kingsmead on Wednesday, sharing seven wickets alongside Kasun Rajitha, who finished with figures of 3-68.
South Africa were toiling on 17-3 until a fourth-wicket stand of 72 between Faf du Plessis (35) and Temba Bavuma (47) helped settle the hosts.
Quinton de Kock was the standout performer for the Proteas with 80 while Keshav Maharaj chipped in with a solid 29 to boost their tally.
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In reply, Sri Lanka lost opener Lahiru Thirimanne, who was caught by wicket-keeper De Kock for a duck off seamer Dale Steyn, before captain Dimuth Karunaratne (28no) and Oshada Fernando (17no) guided them to 49-1, 186 runs behind at stumps.
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De Kock said: “We need to get off to a good start tomorrow and try and find a way to strike early. “Sri Lanka have shown some good intent within their batsmen and will look to score quickly. We will have to figure out how we go about getting wickets.”
