South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2017: 2nd Test, Day 3: 5 talking points
Vernon Philander and co. rubbed salt into the Sri Lankan wounds by taking four wickets in quick time after declaring the innings setting a target of 507. At 130/4, Sri Lanka are virtually out of the contest and anything but a loss looks a bleak prospect.
South Africa scored at a rate of 4.32 as they looked for a speedy declaration. Their batsmen kept thumping the Lankan bowlers despite wickets falling at regular intervals. With a more than sufficient lead on board, the batsmen were focussed on just ballooning that lead to the point of declaration.
Sri Lanka looked in all sorts of trouble as Karunaratne and then Mendis fell to a nagging Philander. Rabada added another two to make it yet another poor day on the field for the tourists.
Here are the talking points from the day's play at Newlands.
#5 Elgar's first step towards consistency
Dean Elgar smacked a 129 in the first innings but he has hit centuries often only to produce a string of low scores after that in Tests. While he has been the second highest run-scorer in Tests for South Africa since 2015, Elgar hasn't embraced consistency.
In a rather curious decision, South Africa did not enforce a follow-on with a 286-run lead and opted to bat yet again, possibly to give their seamers some rest. It was also a good opportunity for Elgar to play with freedom after posting a hundred in his previous innings.
The gritty left-hander made it count with a 55 from 91 balls that included yet another half-century partnership with Cook, the third in this series. If anything, this is Elgar's first step towards consistency that the Proteas badly need from him.