Sri Lanka's Strong Response to South Africa’s First Inning 

After a big defeat from South Africa in the first test, Sri Lanka is trying to save the series's second and last test match.

South Africa’s First Innings

After winning the toss, South Africa decided to bat first. In a classic batting show, the team scored 358, with hundreds from Ryan Rickelton and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne. The team, along with Rickelton and Verreynne, created a big total in front of Sri Lanka. Captain Temba Bavuma continued his excellent form, scoring his fourth consecutive fifty.

Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne Show

 After Tony Zrorzi got out for a golden duck on the first ball of the second over, opener Aiden Markaram and Ryan Rickelton tried to form a partnership and batted for the next ten overs together. Ryan and Rickelton are holding one end batted for over 85 overs. He also made a significant partnership of 133 runs with captain Temba Bavuma. After completing the hundred, Rickelton got out at the score of, hitting 11 boundaries with a strike rate of 40.4.

After the wicketkeeper David Bendingham got out, Kyle Verreynne came to bat. In his fast-paced innings, he held the one end and batted till last, returning to the dressing room unbeaten. In his innings of 105 runs with a strike rate of 78.95, he hit three massive sixes and 12 boundaries. He also built a crucial partnership of 56 with Kagiso Rabada, resulting in the lead after Sri Lanka’s innings.

Sir Bavuma on the fire 

Captain Temba Bavuma, since his return from a two-month break due to the injury, has continued to perform in every innings, scoring his third consecutive fifty in two test match series. In his innings of 78 runs with a strike rate of 71, hitting eight boundaries and six

Sri Lanka’s Strong Response

In response to South Africa's total in the first inning, Sri Lanka responded with 328 runs, with Pathum Nissanka (89)as the team's highest run scorer. Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews supported each other with 44 runs and Kamindu Mendis’s 48 runs.

South Africa Strikes back in the second innings.

After taking a lead of 30 runs, South Africa again scored over 300 to set a big target for Sri Lanka. In the second innings, South Africa scored 317 runs with the contribution of multiple batters, including 50 from Markram(55) and captain Temba Bavuma, who scored his fourth consecutive 50+ score; they also got the support of Bedingham and Stubbs, who scored 35 and 47, respectively.

While Sri Lanka is chasing the target of 348, with the falling wickets, their chances of winning look dim.