South Africa v Sri Lanka: Rickelton century headlines day one

The second Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka hangs in the balance, with the Proteas sitting at 269/7 after day one on Thursday in Gqeberha thanks to a maiden century by Ryan Rickelton.

Rickelton came to the crease after Tony de Zorzi (0) was trapped LBW by Asitha Fernando in the second over of the day.

Playing in his eighth Test for South Africa, the 28-year-old batted through until the penultimate over of the final session, falling for 101.

Rickelton had help from captain Temba Bavuma (78) and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne (48) for the bulk of the day after Aiden Markram fell for 20, while Tristan Stubbs (4), David Bedingham (6) and Marco Jansen (4) came and went quickly.

Lahiru Kumara (3/54) was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers on a tough day that was only made better by two late wickets.

Ahead of Rickelton’s century, the top-order batsman was given out LBW, only to be saved by a review.

“I didn’t think I hit it at all,” he said afterwards.

“I think I might have got a little bit lucky there with some scratches on the UltraEdge.

“I was reviewing because I was on 98, and because I was thinking maybe it was outside the line, but I didn’t feel anything.”

South Africa’s odds to win the second Test have remained steady following the first day, but Sri Lanka’s have lengthened significantly.

The Proteas are paying -625 for victory, while Sri Lanka have gone from +345 pre-match to +700 across most cricket bookmakers.

This Test is critical for both teams’ World Test Championship hopes, as South Africa sit in second place (59.26%) and Sri Lanka in fourth (50%).

Sports news