GALLE Sri Lanka (Reuters) – South African fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel ripped through the Sri Lanka batting lineup to seal a 153-run win in the first test on Sunday as Hashim Amla started his captaincy in fine style.
Steyn took four for 45 and Morkel finished with four for 29 to dismiss the hosts for 216 shortly before the tea break and seal a first win in Sri Lanka for 14 years.
Sri Lanka had started the final day on 110 for one, optimistic of chasing down the 370 victory target after Amla had declared on 206-6, but collapsed under the pressure of the two quicks to lose nine wickets for 106 runs.
Steyn ended with match figures of nine for 99 to take the man of the match award after the best bowling figures by a quick at Galle.
“His figures speak for themselves, he bowled excellently,” Amla said of Steyn.
“The lengths he bowled, the pace, the aggression – a great performance from a great bowler.
“I could look in the dictionary for a million adjectives to describe him, but I think it suffices to say that it was a great performance by a great bowler.”
Steyn started South Africa’s victory push by grabbing an early breakthrough on Sunday when he had Kaushal Silva edge to wicket-keeper Quinton De Kock to end his innings on 38 and the second wicket stand of 104 with Kumar Sangakkara.
Morkel then struck with the first ball after the drinks breaks when Mahela Jayawardene edged behind for 10 to leave Sri Lanka on 138-3.
The hosts still held hope, though, with Sangakkara holding firm against the barrage before the former skipper fell to one of the worst balls of the day.
CRESTFALLEN SANGAKKARA
The left-hander pulling a woeful long hop delivery from JP Duminy straight to Amla at mid-wicket to depart for 76 and leave the hosts in big trouble on 149-4.
Sangakkara could not believe what he had done, staring at the pitch before walking off with his head down.
Lahiru Thirimanne was the next to go, falling in similar circumstances to the first innings as he edged a ball from Steyn outside his stumps to AB de Villiers in the slips for 12.
Dinesh Chandimal then completed the miserable session by departing for one as he gloved an attempted pull off Morkel to de Kock to leave the hosts six down at lunch.
Steyn returned in the second session to take his fourth wicket when he had Dilruwan Perera caught by de Kock for his second duck of the match. It was the fourth wicket to go down for only 12 runs as the hosts fell to 161-7.
Duminy then ended Rangana Herath’s 18-ball cameo for 20 when he top edged a sweep and was caught by a darting De Villiers, who ran from slip to short fine leg to take the catch.
Morkel wrapped up the victory by claiming the final two wickets in two balls, dismissing Suranga Lakmal at long leg for 12 and then Shaminda Eranga fending a short ball to short leg to leave Angelo Mathews unbeaten at the crease on 27.
“The bowlers were really hungry – Dale and Morne asked for the ball regularly, which was brilliant,” said Amla. “We picked up a few early wickets which made it a lot easier to maintain the pressure.”
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews blamed his middle order batting for the defeat.
“Where we lost the test was the failure of our batsmen to score runs on the first innings,” said Mathews, who reckoned Sri Lanka were at least 100 runs short in their first innings when they folded for 292.
“When we started the day at 110 for one, our plan was to go after the target but like in the first innings we didn’t bat well enough.”
The second test starts in Colombo on July 24.
Steyn: Videos of Allan Donald inspired me
GALLE Sri Lanka (Reuters) – South African fast bowler Dale Steyn rated his match-winning performance in the Galle test against Sri Lanka among his best and said watching videos of former fast bowling great Allan Donald inspired him ahead of the series-opener.
The 31-year-old right-arm fast bowler took a match haul of nine wickets on a flat track to inspire South Africa to a 153-run win over Sri Lanka in the two-test series on Sunday.
“I’ve played in some pretty tough conditions before, but this is right up there,” said Steyn after taking the man-of-the-match award.
“It’s not the fastest wicket in the world, that’s for sure, but if you can get pace through the air with a bit of aggression and land the ball in the right areas then you always stand a chance of taking a wicket.
“If you leave it then you can be bowled with a bit of reverse swing, or even with the wind.
“Landing the ball in that area means that lbw, bowled or caught behind are always a factor,” he said.
Steyn’s figures were the best by an overseas fast bowler at this venue renowned for helping the spinners.
“I don’t even know who’s on the list, to be honest with you,” said Steyn.
“I’m just happy to be here wearing this shirt and this cap which I was awarded 10 years ago.
“It’s an honour to be in this team and playing alongside guys like AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla, that’s the coolest thing for me right now.
“Numbers, stats…I don’t even know how many test wickets I have to be honest with you.
“I just enjoy running in, bowling quickly and trying to knock over batsmen,” he said.
Steyn also thanked Donald, currently South Africa’s fast bowling coach, for inspiring him.
“I actually watched a couple of his videos before I bowled in this test,” said Steyn.
“He’s always telling us how good we are and what legends we are – it must take a bit out of him to do that because he was a legend himself.
“For him to say those things to youngsters like us, I really appreciate that,” Steyn said.
“The wickets are for the whole country but I like to say thank you to him,” he added.
Amla’s declaration vindicated despite some sweaty moments
GALLE Sri Lanka (Reuters) – Hashim Amla was probably more relieved than elated after his declaration gamble paid off and the bearded South African began his captaincy tenure with a thumping 153-run win against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
South Africa’s first permanent non-white skipper made a gamble on the fourth day of the series-opener when he declared his team’s second innings at 206-6, challenging the hosts to score 370 runs in four sessions to win the first test.
With Sri Lanka knocking 110 runs off that victory target by the close of play on Saturday losing just one wicket, things did not look particularly rosy even though history said no team had chased down such a big fourth innings victory target at the venue.
“I just wanted as many overs to bowl to win the game, it’s not easy to bat last on this wicket, if we lose the game, so be it, but give us the best chance to win the game,” Amla said of his declaration.
“At 110 for one, we thought if we get one wicket we had a chance because batting last and chasing 370 is a really tall ask for any team.”
He was also lucky to have Dale Steyn, arguably the best fast bowler in international cricket, at his disposal and the quick came up with a match-winning performance to gift Amla a perfect captaincy debut.
Amla, on his part, displayed signs of a leader who was not averse to taking risk to get results.
“I was pretty confident and very excited, because that uncertainty is something that is quite exciting – bland word, but it is an exciting feeling to have that uncertainty,” he said.
Amla was effusive in his praise for Steyn and was happy with the overall team performance which made him optimistic of winning the series against the gritty Sri Lankans.
“Not many teams have come here and won a test series so it’s in the back of our minds,” said Amla, adding all he was now looking forward was to “having a nice cup of tea and enjoying this win.”
