SA vs SL [WATCH]: Asitha Fernando dismisses Aiden Markram with a beauty on Day 1 of 1st Test

The first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka began on November 27 at Kingsmead in Durban, and the visitors had an impressive start. Opting to bowl first under overcast conditions, Sri Lanka’s decision paid dividends as their bowlers exploited the helpful pitch to trouble South Africa’s top order.

Asitha Fernando dismisses Aiden Markam with a brilliant delivery

Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando set the tone early, delivering a stunning delivery to dismiss South African opener Aiden Markram (9) in the third over.

On the final ball of the over, Asitha bowled a 134 km/h good-length delivery that moved away sharply in the channel outside off-stump. Markram, tempted to play, pushed at it with hard hands. The ball found the outside edge and flew low to Angelo Mathews at slip, who completed an excellent catch just inches above the ground.

Here is the video:

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Sri Lanka capitalizes on seam-friendly conditions

The Sri Lankan bowlers, led by their frontline seamers, capitalized on the overcast weather and a pitch offering pace and seam movement. They reduced South Africa to 80/4 by lunch, ensuring a brilliant session for the visitors. Asitha provided the first breakthrough followed by Vishwa Fernando, who got rid of Tony de Zorzi (4).

Notably, the Proteas captain Temba Bavuma survived two scares during the session. He was dropped by Dimuth Karunaratne and later caught off a no-ball bowled by Lahiru Kumara. Though, Kumara had a good spell as he bagged two wickets in the form of Tristan Stubbs (16) and David Bedingham (4).

Challenging conditions for the batters

The murky, cold weather combined with a seaming track made life difficult for South African batters. While Sri Lanka will aim to build on their early success, South Africa will need a strong partnership to recover from a tough start.

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