Sri Lanka vs South Africa, 1st Test - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Build Up:

Dry pitch. Some assistance for spinners. The Herath and Perera show. Sri Lanka's template has worked to perfection so far. On Day 2, the spin duo, Herath and Perera, ran through South Africa's batting line-up, with support from Suranga Lakmal as the visitors were bundled out for just 126.

Dimuth Karunaratne, the man of the moment, continued his impressive form with a well measured 60 as Sri Lanka extended the lead to 272. To make matters worse for the tourists, Sri Lanka still have six wickets in hand. The only positive sign for South Africa was Keshav Maharaj, who extracted appreciable turn late on Day 2, to snare three scalps.

If we take a stroll down the memory lane, the visitors have displayed the required grit and fighting spirit under pressure in the Island nation. In 1993, in the Moratuwa Test, Jonty Rhodes essayed a match-saving unbeaten hundred to take the tourists to safety. More recently in 2014, Hashim Amla's 159-ball blockathon had helped the visitors to draw the Colombo SSC Test and win the series 1-0. So South Africa can perhaps draw some inspiration by looking into history books.

You can also share your views on the ongoing Galle Test or, if you have questions about the history of the game... or anything related to cricket via the Twitter handle @fancricket12