South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2016/17: 5 ways visitors can get a consolation win at the Bullring
Sri Lanka head to Johannesburg, a venue notorious for pace and bounce, and one where the visitors were expected to find the going tough. They have already lost the series, rather comprehensively, and all they play for in the third Test of the series is their pride.
Sri Lanka have bowled much better than they were expected to with 19-year-old Lahiru Kumara and Suranga Lakmal among the wickets. But their batting has fared pathetically against the South African seamers and even their spinner, Keshav Maharaj.
If they are to take anything out of the first two Tests, it is how reckless and impatient they have been with the willow. Their batting line-up is relatively young but that is no excuse for some of the shots that were displayed by their top order.
Going into Johannesburg, South Africa will miss Kyle Abbott, who has been instrumental for them in recent times but they have able replacements waiting on the sidelines. But Sri Lanka would be hoping that the absence of a key bowler affects the rhythm of the attack.
All said and done, the hard yards have to come from their batsmen if they are to finish the Tests with any sort of pride. Let us take a glance at how this Lankan line-up can counter the Proteas threat on a pitch tailor-made for the home pace bowlers.
#5 Start patiently with the bat
This is something Sri Lanka have done reasonably well on this tour thanks to their openers, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva. More often than not, the duo gave Sri Lanka a stable platform despite adversity striking in the form of three phenomenal pace bowlers at the peak of their powers.
Kaushal Silva has been impressive and Karunaratne has stood by him to offer some early resistance. But the duo, despite consuming enough overs to rub off that shine from the new ball, have not put on enough runs on board to make South Africa panic.
Karunaratne has been guilty of driving away from his body to play on to his stumps and Silva has fallen to the LBW trap more than once in the series. But the openers seem like the only ones to get a hang of the conditions and this puts more onus on them to perform better with each game.