Rohan Wijeyaratna, in Island, 18 February 2019, where the title reads “Sri Lanka’s finest hour!”
By the end of the third day at Kingsmead in Durban, Sri Lanka were three down for 83 and still requiring 221 to win. All indications were that they were heading towards another customary ending. The game was keenly poised, and If ever there was an occasion for someone to play Horatius at the Bridge, this was it. Early indications were that there weren’t any such gallant men in sight. Batsmen simply came and went. Among those dismissed on day three were Karunaratne, Thirimanne and Kusal Mendis; more or less the main gut of the Sri Lankan batting. At the wicket were Kusal Perera and Oshada Fernando; both threatening to depart anytime. If Sri Lanka were to clamber out of this latest hole, character, restraint, measured aggression and some luck were all needed in equal measure. Despite their well-chronicled self-destructive tendencies, this Test still offered the visitors an opportunity. The pitch was relatively benign and the South African bowlers somehow lacked the sustained menace to cause alarm. All what Sri Lanka needed was greater stomach to make a fist of things. The Lankans however, seemed unconvinced. Instead they set about doing what they were quite expert at. That was to self-destruct. Be it at cricket or any other, Sri Lanka stands unparalleled when it comes to missing out on opportunities which land on their own doorstep. And so it seemed, one more time!
