JOHANNESBURG: Sri Lanka took four big wickets Monday to rein in South Africa on Day 2 of the second test. Sri Lanka struck first to get Dean Elgar for 127 and break his 184-run stand with Rassie van der Dussen (67).
Elgar's departure began a run of four wickets for 23 runs for the tourists to limit South Africa to 256-5 at lunch in its first innings. South Africa leads by 99 after Sri Lanka was all out for 157 on the first day at the Wanderers, but the Proteas had targeted a much bigger first-innings advantage.
Van der Dussen fell the over after Elgar, and Faf du Plessis (8) and captain Quinton de Kock (10) also went in successive overs soon after. That left Temba Bavuma, 7 not out, and Wiaan Mulder, also 7 not out, to see South Africa carefully to lunch.
The momentum of the session changed completely after the first hour. Elgar and van der Dussen had taken South Africa to 216-1 at the drink break after starting the day on 148-1. Elgar earned a 13th test century after being dismissed for 95 in South Africa's victory in the first test.
But the wickets at the Wanderers started tumbling after the mid-session break. Allrounder Dasun Shanaka collected the wickets of van der Dussen and du Plessis with his medium pace to have figures of 2-42 and give Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope of fighting its way back into the match.
South Africa won the first match of the two-test series by an innings and 45 runs as Sri Lanka struggled with a raft of injuries.