As South Africa scored 89 runs for the loss of their final three wickets, Kyle Verreynne hammered bouncer after bouncer, smashing six fours and three sixes his route to a thrilling third Test century. Verreynne’s confidence skyrocketed with the 66-run partnership he formed with Kagiso Rabada on the way to the century, just as Sri Lanka completely irritated themselves with their failing short-ball strategies.
South Africa ultimately roared to a total of 358. Dane Paterson scored nine of the runs, while Rabada scored twenty-three.
By the conclusion of the innings, Verreynne was still not out at 105 off 133 balls after bludgeoning 57 runs off the 50 balls he faced on the second morning.
On day two, each of Sri Lanka’s top seamers claimed a wicket: Lahiru Kumara had Paterson holing out, Asitha Fernando terminated Rabada’s innings, and Vishwa Fernando had Keshav Maharaj caught at slip. Kumara took 4 for 79, the best figures of the innings.
Sri Lanka’s openers faced six overs before lunch after dismissing South Africa. The bounce produced by both bowlers pulled Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka into playing (and missing) balls in the channel, along with the zip that Rabada and Marco Jansen generated off the field.
However, they made it through this time, and Karunaratne discovered one off-side boundary behind the square.
What really got Verreynne’s motor going was a triple-boundary over against Asitha. ago the second new ball had long ago ceased swinging. Verreynne had a deep midwicket out and a deep square leg, but he shifted to a little front-on stance to position himself for the bouncer and continued to hammer the ball beyond the deep fielders.
Asitha was going at the stumps for a change and would shortly bowl Rabada. Verreynne pulled the throttle even harder with the No. 11 in and still on 81. He first smashed Prabath Jayasuriya over cow corner for six, then he mowed Asitha Fernando into the banks to come within one strike of a hundred, and finally he reached triple figures with another powerful pull that sent the ball sailing over fine leg’s head.
Wild celebrations followed the milestone, as Paterson gave the dressing room a bear embrace while Verreynne bowed. Even Verreynne, who started the morning on 48 and had previously lost seven wickets, probably did not think that a century was imminent.
The next over, Paterson would get out after hitting two fours. On day two, however, South Africa had dealt them significant damage in the 17.1 overs they faced.
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