NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka batter Pathum Nissanka's resilient knock of 89 runs played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka's fightback against South Africa on the second day of the second Test at St George's Park.
Despite being dropped early in his innings, Nissanka capitalized on the opportunity and led Sri Lanka's response to South Africa's first-inning total of 358.
Nissanka's innings was characterized by his ability to blunt South Africa's hostile seam attack, forming crucial partnerships with Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal.
His 109-run stand with Chandimal for the second wicket laid the foundation for Sri Lanka's strong position at the end of the day's play, giving the Lankans some much-needed hope.
While Nissanka missed out on a well-deserved century, being dismissed by Keshav Maharaj for 89, his contribution was instrumental in Sri Lanka reaching 242-3 at stumps, trailing South Africa by 116 runs.
Earlier in the day, Kyle Verreynne's counterattacking century propelled South Africa's first-inning total to 358 all out.
Verreynne's aggressive batting, coupled with valuable contributions from the lower order, allowed South Africa to extend their innings and set a challenging target for Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka will aim to erase the deficit and establish a lead on a surface that appears conducive to batting on Day 3 of the encounter.
The performances of Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendes, who remained unbeaten at the close of play, will be crucial in determining the outcome of this must-win Test for both teams in their pursuit of the World Test Championship final.
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