There was a party atmosphere in the stands as South Africa’s attack supplied the on-field fireworks at Newlands
Firdose Moonda at Newlands03-Jan-20174:47
#PE: Would Sri Lanka at least win a cook-off?
In Cape Town, New Year is celebrated twice. January 1 is filled with traditional festivities: a lazy day at the beach or at the botanical gardens with friends and family. Then on January 2 comes a unique custom, a minstrel parade passing through the city centre as it has done since the mid-19th century when the date (known as or “Second New Year”) was given to slaves as a day off. But this year, if you were at Newlands, New Year was celebrated three times.In one section of the ground, “Hashim’s Army” were in position in the North Stand, where they occupy an entire block. Dressed in white with fake beards, they were commanded by a particularly brave Amla lookalike, clad in green with two Castle Lager cans attached to his outfit. The real Amla would no doubt disapprove of his choice of accessory but he probably had a giggle or two at some of their songs.Elsewhere, a wedding was being staged for Dean Elgar, who was apparently in the rather unusual position of being married to the Railway Stand. That is not drunk typing or even disillusioned typing – there was an invite to prove it. Elgar spotted the group, presumably throwing some kind of bachelor’s party, several times on the big screen but did not seem ready to commit.It was in the middle where South Africa made the most merry, however, with a bowling performance that did not quite match 47 all out but saw Sri Lanka dismissed for so little, so convincingly that there were more calls for the follow-on than selfies taken with dressed-up fans.That South Africa’s attack are classy and clinical is already known. That they can add 100 runs to the score has been proven from Perth to Port Elizabeth, where they have turned under-par totals into match-winning ones. That they would likely wreak havoc on a surface with much more grass left on it than usual was hinted at when Elgar said on Monday it would likely bring the best out of Vernon Philander and Kyle Abbott.Philander and Abbott were at their usual miserly best and beat the batters so many times that they must have been good for a souffle. But it was Kagiso Rabada, having been a little off-colour in the first Test, who had the most joy. Philander cleaned up the tail to match his four wickets but Rabada’s haul was the more emphatic. He launched a short-ball attack that is typical of South African quicks to subcontinental batsmen and it worked to script.Extra bounce had Kaushal Silva playing on, Dimuth Karunaratne sliced a short, wide ball to a diving Temba Bavuma and Angelo Mathews prodded at a sharply rising, back-of-a-length delivery and edged to second slip. More than Rabada’s plan, it was his energy that seemed better than in Port Elizabeth. His pace was back in the 140s kph, he was leading the attack again.Rabada does not like that term because he does not see himself as more senior than either Philander or Abbott and in age terms he isn’t. It could be argued that in skills terms, he might be but his pace partners have different and equally valuable qualities. They move the ball in ways that mystify. They carry the attack together.Assistance for Rabada came initially from Keshav Maharaj, who has endured an almost Imran Tahir-like anonymity in the early parts of his international career. He has been overshadowed by the quicks but seems to have more of a future in Test cricket than Tahir because he has more control and he offers something with the bat. Maharaj removed two potentially dangerous batsmen, in Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva, before Philander took up the slack as the last four wickets fell for 10 runs in the space of three overs.An invite to Dean Elgar’s “wedding”•ESPNcricinfo LtdIn the stands, the Hashim Amlas cheered, Elgar’s brides threw their bouquets, the first dance was held, pretty much between the two parties, and there may even have been a kiss. Every South African was having fun but that faded a little when the openers raced off the field with an hour left in the day and it became clear the follow-on would not be enforced.With a 282-run lead and a demoralised Sri Lanka line-up, it seemed the perfect opportunity for Faf du Plessis to assert his side’s dominance and attempt to earn them a couple of days off in Cape Town, where the New Year can be celebrated for a whole month if you really want. Thousands of tickets have been sold for days three, four and five and du Plessis may have had those fans in mind when he chose to add to the lead. When South Africa feel they have more than enough, they will unleash their attack on Sri Lanka for the fun to begin again. A first win of 2017 beckons, and with it the series, and the revellers won’t mind how it comes.
