Gibbs has faith in SA attack
Altus Momberg, Die Burger
Colombo - Herschelle Gibbs is confident that South Africa's bowlers can secure victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Monday and Tuesday.
Gibbs expressed his confidence at the end of the third day's play, with South Africa on 257 for seven in their second innings, a lead of 297 runs.
The match is balanced on a knife's edge and both teams believe they can win. Sri Lanka have a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Gibbs is hoping South Africa's remaining batsmen can add another 50 runs to the total, but said that even if they didn't, the bowlers had enough ammunition to clinch the match and square the series.
Gibbs said after scoring 92 runs: "The new ball, as Sri Lanka's first innings proved, can be decisive, but we'll have to bowl well.
"It is not the easiest pitch to bat on. And, I'm sure it's going to get more difficult because it's very dry.
"You will see (on Monday) one or two balls shooting through and the pitch will keep crumbling. It's also going to help the spinners more and more."
Just missed a century
Mark Boucher, on 28, and Nicky Boje (five) will continue batting on Monday and the captain, Ashwell Prince, will be hoping that the versatile veterans can build a substantial partnership.
Gibbs was under immense pressure at the start of his innings after last making a Test century 15 matches ago.
"I'm disappointed that I did not get a century today, but I am happy about my performance. One of us had to bat for a large part of the day and I managed to do so," he said.
"The Sri Lankans bowled extremely well after lunch and set good field placings. This made it hard for us to get going. One must give them credit for clever cricket."
Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene was confident that his team would be able to chase a target.
"It is never easy to chase a score of 300 in the fourth innings of a Test, but I believe we have the batsmen to do so. This is where perseverance comes in," he said.
Jayawardene was not concerned about the turn Muttiah Muralitharan was able to extract on Sunday.
'Outfield is lightning fast'
"That's Muralitharan," he said. "Nicky Boje bowled well in our first innings, but we know what a difference Murali makes.
"The outfield is lightning fast and if we take the last three wickets early on Monday, we still have a good chance.
"We will have to bat well to win, but they will have to bowl very well. We'll have to see," the skipper said.
News source: www.news24.co.za
Posted by: www.SouthAfrica-CarHire.com
