South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2016, 1st Test, day 4 - 5 Talking Points

Sri Lanka gave South Africa an early scare before succumbing to a sequence of tame dismissals to hand the hosts the advantage at the close of play on Day 4. Half-centuries from Kusal Mendis and skipper, Angelo Matthews helped Lanka stay afloat after their openers had set a good platform.

South Africa struggled to break through the Lankan batsmen on a hot day with little assistance from the wicket although all the bowlers were quite disciplined and stuck to their plans pretty well. Keshav Maharaj provided the perfect foil to the three pacers and captured two important wickets.

Lanka will head into Day 5 knowing that their last recognised batting pair is at the crease and they cannot afford any more loose strokes. A tame run out ended the opening partnership and Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis and Chandimal gifted their wickets to the South Africans as they threw away the hard work of Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva.

Here are the talking points from the day's play.

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#5 de Kock and du Plessis play no target game

After de Kock and du Plessis had played patiently, yet with intent on Day 3, some quick scoring and a timely declaration were expected. Instead, on Day 4, the duo continued to test the patience of the Sri Lankans, and dare say, the fans.

Both of them eased past their half-centuries at a strike rate a touch above 70 and continued casually with odd boundaries here and there. Even when the spinners were brought on, they showed little acceleration although de Kock did loft one over the covers off de Silva.

de Kock was eventually dismissed by Herath to end the 129 run stand and du Plessis immediately declared the innings to set Lanka a target of 488, 2 shy of what Pakistan needed at the Gabba last week.

#4 Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva play patiently

Kaushal Silva was steady

With the sun beating down and little swing on offer, the Proteas had their work cut out for them. Philander and Abbott were sharp and probing but lack of seam movement restricted the opportunities.

Silva and Karunaratne were, meanwhile, patient and held their nerve playing out the seamers with solid defence and decisive leaves. Silva, in particular, was impressive and rarely gave any opportunities to the seamers.

Even when Maharaj cane into the attack the openers held their own and stoically defended. The first 9 overs yielded just 10 runs but slowly they started being more positive until reckless running ended the partnership at 87 after 32.4 overs.

#3 Kusal Perera's position in question

Perera’s technique has come under scrutiny

Kusal Perera is very similar in style to Sanath Jayasuriya, so much so that from a distance one can easily mistake him for the veteran opener. While Jayasuriya knew how to play the patience game well and pounce on any available opportunity, Perera is too reckless.

His shot selection was questioned several times in the first innings as he repeatedly tried to hoist Abbott and Philander over cover. He was eventually dismissed slashing at a wide Philander ball for 7.

In the second innings, he was equally aggressive and edged Maharaj to de Kock while he was batting on 6. Given the nature of his dismissals, it is unlikely that Lanka will persist with him at 3, especially since a viable option is present in the squad in the form of Kusal Mendis, who is at 4 now.

#2 Maharaj impresses yet again

Maharaj bowled yet another testing spell

Keshav Maharaj was one huge positive for South Africa after the Australian tour. He tied down the Aussie batsmen with guile, and showed fearlessness while flighting the ball. His ability to tie down an end made him a perfect foil to the Proteas seam attack.

While in the first innings at PE, Maharaj was barely required, given the nature of the wicket, conditions on offer and Philander's seam movement, it was known that he would be a key factor in the second innings.

With the sun beating down, du Plessis turned to Maharaj, who bowled skillfully to tie down the Lankan batsmen. He had Kusal Perera caught behind and almost had Kaushal Silva edging to Amla at slips. He also dismissed Chandimal late in the day to help South Africa get a hold of the game.

#1 Mathews holds the key

Can Mathews guide his side to victory?

Angelo Mathews is the key for Sri Lanka heading into Day 5 of the Port Elizabeth Test. They cannot surely play out 90 overs tomorrow by defending. The only way to save the game is by going after the target, although not in the manner Chandimal or Kusal Mendis did today.

Mathews is batting on 58 and is looking in good touch. He has Dhananjaya de Silva for company and Herath can hold a bat too. However, the current pair needs to stay at least until lunch tomorrow if Sri Lanka are to stand a chance.

Mathews has a terrific record against the Proteas and if he can perform the job of an anchor, Sri Lanka are in with a chance to give the Proteas a scare, if not win the Test.