Fast bowler Anrich Nortje took six wickets and opening batsman Dean Elgar batted confidently as South Africa took control on the first day of the second and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Nortje claimed career-best figures of 6/56 as Sri Lanka collapsed to 157 after winning the toss and choosing to bat first on the pace-friendly Wanderers pitch. Then the left-handed Elgar scored 92 not out as South Africa reached 148/1 at the close.
With Kusal Perera hitting an aggressive 60, Sri Lanka were on course to reach lunch with minimal damage on a pitch which usually offers assistance to the bowlers on the first morning.
But Perera was caught at gully off the medium-paced Wiaan Mulder 20 minutes from the interval, sparking a calamitous collapse from 71/1 to 84/5 before the break.
The left-handed Perera struck 11 boundaries, punishing anything loose against the fast bowlers but the medium-paced Mulder slowed his momentum with a maiden…