Kusal pulls off incredible chase

Durban, February 16 

Sri Lanka’s epic one-wicket victory over South Africa in the first Test at Kingsmead was achieved on the back of what will go down as one of the country’s greatest Test match innings by an unlikely hero in Kusal Perera.

The swashbuckling middle-order batsman scored 153, adding a record 78 for the final wicket with No. 11 Vishwa Fernando, who batted for 73 minutes without playing a shot in anger, desperately holding the South African attack at bay. Perera was in his second Test back in the side, with a top score of just 32 in his previous 10 innings, and was roughed up by Australia on his last outing earlier this month. But he produced an innings of power, precision, bravery, intelligence and grit, taking blows to the body from the fierce South African pace attack and responding with a few blows of his own with the bat as the tourists chased down 304 to win. As Sri Lanka crept closer to their victory target, Perera might have been tempted to knock the singles and play conservatively, but instead he launched at the home bowlers, hitting five sixes in his incredible innings. The key to the last-wicket stand was not only the boundaries he hit, but also his ability to keep his partner off strike. Perera and Fernando were at the crease together for 95 balls and the No. 11 faced only 27 of them.  — Reuters

Brief scores: SA: 235 & 259 (du Plessis 90, Embuldeniya 5/66); SL: 191 & 304/9 in 85.3 overs (Kusal 153*)

SL rock Durban!

304 It’s only the fourth time a 300-plus target has been chased in a Test against South Africa on their home turf. Australia have done it thrice, Sri Lanka is the only Asian team to do it 

78* Was the last-wicket partnership between Kusal Perera and Vishwa Fernando —  highest in a successful fourth-innings chase in Tests. Perera contributed 67 and Fernando just 6 in this partnership

191 Is the second-best fourth-innings total by an Asian team in a win in South Africa — by Pakistan at Port Elizabeth in 2007

206/3 Is India’s best fourth-innings score in SA, at Port Elizabeth in 2001. This match was drawn. India have never successfully chased in a fourth innings in SA