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

77.6 – No run.

77.5 – No run.

77.4 – Full, on middle, Tristan Stubbs yet again comes down the track and slices it through covers for a couple more runs.

77.3 – FOUR! Tristan Stubbs is seeing the ball more like a football now. This is very smart batting. Tossed up, on middle, Stubbs skips down to the pitch of the ball and drives it past mid off to his right for a boundary. South Africa’s lead it now 400 runs!

77.2 – Drags the length down by a bit and keeps it on off, Temba Bavuma stands tall and punches it past short mid-wicket to his left for a single.

77.1 – No run.

76.6 – Short and on middle, Temba Bavuma pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a single.

Batsman_1 : Temba Bavuma 71(160)

Batsman_2 : Tristan Stubbs 76(158)

Bowler : Prabath Jayasuriya 2/101(33)

Over : 77

Run : 5

Wicket : 0

Score : 246/3

76.5 – Full, on off, Temba Bavuma jams it out to gully. Looks for a quick run but is sent back by Stubbs!

76.4 – FOUR! Made it look very easy! This is flighted full, outside off, Temba Bavuma sweeps from well outside and drags it past mid-wicket to his right for a boundary.

76.3 – Full and on middle, Temba Bavuma dead-bats it back to the bowler.

76.2 – A bit short and some extra bounce, on middle and leg, Temba Bavuma rises back up and tucks it to mid-wicket.

70 percent chances of rain.

76.1 – No run.

75.6 – No run.

Batsman_1 : Tristan Stubbs 76(158)

Batsman_2 : Temba Bavuma 66(154)

Bowler : Dhananjaya de Silva 0/24(5)

Over : 76

Run : 4

Wicket : 0

Score : 241/3

75.5 – Full around middle and off, Tristan Stubbs taps it to cover.

75.4 – Tossed right up, on middle, Stubbs jumps ahead and blocks.

75.3 – Full, on off, Tristan Stubbs keeps it out.

75.2 – FOUR! Exquisite piece of timing and use of feet from Stubbs! Tossed up, on middle, Stubbs skips down the track, makes some room and drives it past mid off to his left for a boundary. This also brings up the 150-run stand between these two!

75.1 – No run.

74.6 – No run.

74.5 – Quicker and flatter, outside off, short in length, Stubbs punches it towards long off for a run.

74.4 – Full, around off, Tristan Stubbs defends solidly.

74.3 – Full, outside off, but the skipper gets down on a knee and converts it into a full toss. Paddles it around the corner, towards fine leg for a single.

74.2 – Full, around off, Bavuma defends watchfully.

74.1 – No run.

Who will bowl from the other end?

73.6 – Around off, TB works it through mid on for a run.

Batsman_1 : Temba Bavuma 65(150)

Batsman_2 : Tristan Stubbs 71(150)

Bowler : Dhananjaya de Silva 0/20(4)

Over : 74

Run : 2

Wicket : 0

Score : 235/3

73.5 – Flighted, on middle, Temba jumps out, looks to flick but is beaten in flight. The ball goes off the leading edge towards point.

73.4 – A bit of drift away, short in length, around off, the skipper punches it back to the bowler.

73.3 – Full, around middle, Bavuma comes down the track now and flicks it, but it is intercepted by short mid-wicket.

73.2 – Around off, Temba Bavuma looks to push and run but is sent back.

73.1 – 1 run.

The sunny conditions remain and we are ready with the second session.

… DAY 3, SESSION 2 …

Everyone vies for a promotion in their job most of the time. Australia’s Adam Zampa is no different. After doing supremely well as his country’s lead spinner in the white-ball format for over 5 years now, Zampa now wants to be promoted to be selected as an all-format player. He has his eyes on Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka next year where the Aussies will be looking for a spin partner to Nathan Lyon. The leggie is now pushing his bid through the on-going Sheffield Shield, Australia’s domestic first-class tournament.

Just a reminder to everyone, that the final call on Champions Trophy’s status is to be taken today in a meeting convened by the ICC. The meeting is due to a debate arising from the fact that India have refused to travel to Pakistan due to security concerns and the PCB against a hybrid model, which could see the tournament split into two countries. In order to reach an amicable decision, someone has to agree on some term and perhaps, shifting the tournament totally might be the best option. Let’s hope that the tournament does not get scrapped.

With some time left for the game to resume, let’s check at how another contender of the WTC final is doing – New Zealand. After Glenn Phillips’ 58 took them to a competitive 348, they had England on the ropes at 71/4. But then, thanks to some shoddy fielding and brilliant batting, the visitors recovered nicely to end the second day’s play at 319/5, just 29 behind. The architect of this fightback was Harry Brook, who got yet another century and is still batting, on 132. The Kiwis were very generous towards the Yorkshire lad, as they dropped him thrice and at one point, one of the on-air commentators could not stop himself from uttering that this does not look like ANY Kiwi side. Rightly so. One never expects New Zealand to drop one catch, let alone so many and the irony of that was the catch taken by Glenn Phillips to dismiss Ollie Pope was a blinder – almost a replica of the one he took to dismiss Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne earlier this year. Pope departed for 77 but Brook has found good company in his skipper, Ben Stokes. By our calculations, England are out of the reckoning for the World Test Championship final, but they can certainly make New Zealand’s road difficult, if they manage to win this series.

So the question which remains to be asked is – how long do South Africa bat. One believes that they have got the runs they needed – a good bank close to 400. Maybe, the first thing on their mind right now, would be for these two gentlemen to get to the three-digit mark. If those happen, then you can imagine the lead to cross 450 easily. What remains thereafter, is the time factor. Because there is so much time left in this Test match, there is absolutely no need for South Africa to think about a declaration. But Vernon Philander on air mentioned that there is some rain forecast on Sunday and he reckons that the hosts might want to bowl for around 20 overs tonight. So that means, declaring roughly an hour after Tea. One could see the lead swell up to perhaps even 600, if quick runs come on offer.

Vishwa Fernando brought energy and precision into the attack, occasionally beating the edges of the bat, but the breakthrough remained elusive. A key moment slipped away when Angelo Mathews dropped Stubbs at slip on 35, a missed opportunity Sri Lanka could hardly afford in their current predicament. Sri Lanka now find themselves in dire straits as the game steadily tilts further in South Africa’s favour. With the second new ball just 7 overs away, it offers a glimmer of hope for the visitors to turn their fortunes around.

Sri Lanka bowled with discipline to start the session, with Lahiru Kumara’s pace and Prabath Jayasuriya’s spin. However, the pitch offered very little assistance, and the bright sun seemed to further nullify any significant movement. While the Lankan bowlers stuck to consistent lines and lengths, South Africa’s well-set batters, Bavuma and Stubbs, rotated the strike effectively, steadily adding to their lead.