Patience and discipline will be key on final day, says Proteas’ Maharaj

Patience and discipline will be needed for the Proteas if they want to capture the remaining five wickets to claim victory on the final day of the second Test against Sri Lanka, Keshav Maharaj says.

With the visitors sitting on 205/5 at St George's Park in Gqeberha, still 143 runs behind and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva not out on 39 alongside Kusal Mendis (39), sharing an unbeaten 83-run partnership, the match really is hanging in the balance with both sides in with a sniff of victory.

The penultimate morning started in favour of Sri Lanka as Prabath Jayasuriya completed his 10th career five-wicket haul, his first away from home as the visitors dismissed South Africa for 317, which set them a target of 348 for victory having carried a 30-run lead into their second innings.

In pursuit of the win, Sri Lanka looked in trouble at 122/5, having lost Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis in consecutive Maharaj overs, this after wickets by Kagiso Rabada and a double strike by Dane Paterson got things moving.

However, de Silva and Mendis knuckled down and frustrated the hosts as they stood firm as South Africa's bowling attack went in search of wickets as the duo safely guided their side to the end of the day without incident.

“It will require a lot of patience, especially as the ball gets older and softer,” Maharaj said in the post-play press engagement on Sunday.

“The wicket becomes a bit more placid but we did go searching, if I'm honest.

“Hopefully tomorrow we will go back to that old-fashioned Test cricket like we did in that period when we got those seven wickets in the morning.”

The Sri Lankan pair, both of whom sit on 39 not out, spent 18.5 overs together, rotating strike constantly while also managing to find the boundary whenever the opportunity presented itself.

And while their prolonged stay at the crease may evoke feelings of concern, one wicket will see the Proteas expose the Sri Lankan tail, which in itself could see the rest of their batting line-up unravel if the home bowlers find the best lines and lengths.

Maharaj said wickets often happen in clusters and while they may be seeking to dismiss either set batsman, the spinner knows one wicket could flip the game situation again.

“It's about staying patient and then hopefully reaping the rewards of some hard graft tomorrow [Monday] morning.”

Asked to explain the process employed to decide which lines, lengths and deliveries to bowl to certain batters, Maharaj said it was a combination of analysis but also rhythm and feel when out in the middle.

“You do your analysis work, but if conditions don't allow for it, you go on feeling and then try to do things accordingly,” he said.

“Towards the back end we tried a few things to buy a wicket, but it didn't work. Like I said, tomorrow [we will see] a bit more old-fashioned Test cricket, we will zone in on a length and try to make it difficult for the batters to score with the softer ball.

“Who knows, if we string a few maidens together that may bring a few wickets in the morning.”