Vernon Philander claimed his third five-wicket haul in as many Test matches as South Africa dominated the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at SuperSport Park on Thursday. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 180 and South Africa replied with 90 for one, with captain Graeme Smith hitting 61 before he was out eight balls before the close. Philander took five for 53 and fellow fast bowler Dale Steyn grabbed four for 18 as Sri Lanka struggled after being sent in on a green pitch which offered bounce and movement to the South African quicks.
There were two half-century partnerships during the Sri Lankan innings, with Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews all reaching 30, but the rest of the batting crumbled. Sri Lanka lost their last six wickets for 24 runs off 32 balls.
The collapse was sparked by a burst of three wickets in five balls — all confirmed by television reviews — which ended a spirited fifth wicket stand of 65 off 79 balls between Samaraweera (36) and Mathews (38). Philander broke the partnership when he had Samaraweera caught behind off a ball which bounced steeply. The batsman was given not out by umpire Rod Tucker but the South Africans asked for a review and the hotspot technology showed that the batsman got a faint edge to the ball. The next ball brought the wicket of Kaushal Silva, again after the batsman was given not out by umpire Tucker. The review requested by South Africa showed that Silva gloved the ball down the legside to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher. Three balls later new batsman Thisara Perera was caught at slip off leg-spinner Imran Tahir.
He was given out by umpire Steve Davis and television umpire Richard Kettleborough was again brought into action when Perera unsuccessfully sought a review. Philander, who took five wickets in an innings in both his previous Tests against Australia last month, had Mathews caught at slip to achieve the feat again before Steyn bowled the last two batsmen, Chanaka Welegedara and Dilhara Fernando with successive fast, straight balls.
