South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2017: 2nd Test, Day 3: 5 talking points

#2 Philander's burst

Philander is the leader of the South African attack and has bowled superbly in this Test

Vernon Philander is one tricky customer to deal with in conditions similar to the one in Newlands. He can make the ball seam and nip around, while bowling a nagging line. Despite his military pace, the lower-order all-rounder has enough tricks up his sleeve to compensate for his lack of pace.

In the second innings, Philander started from around the wicket to the left-handed Karunaratne but seeing there was extravagant seam movement on offer, he switched back to over the wicket and the move immediately reaped rewards. Karunaratne edged one onto his stumps to end his stay at the crease.

Philander continued to test Lanka's patience, slanting one outside the off-stump of Kusal Mendis, who has been driving and edging far too often in this series. The trend continued and he edged to Elgar at third slip.