Long haul ahead of Sri Lanka at Kingsmead

Just two days into the Castle Lager/MTN Test series and Sri Lanka's strengths and weaknesses in South African conditions have been sharply illuminated.

The tourists ended the second day of the first Test on 62 for two in reply to South Africa's 420 all out and while Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara batted bravely into the evening to put on 60 in an unbroken stand for the third wicket, the Sri Lankans still have some way to go to reach the follow-on target of 221.

It will not be easy on a Kingsmead pitch that has offered uneven bounce and which is likely to become even more two-paced as the match wears on. The South African seamers are well-equipped to exploit the conditions while Sri Lanka have struggled all through their tour to come to terms with the bounce.

They were in terrible trouble just four overs into their innings after Makahaya Ntini had run out Marvan Atapattu for nought and Sanath Jayasuriya had also gone without scoring, brilliantly caught by Neil McKenzie at point off Mfuneko Ngam.

But the visitors have fought back reasonably well. The job now, for Sangakkara and Jayawardene, is to keep it going.

The second day of the match threw up at least three notable achievements - Gary Kirsten's 180 and five-wicket hauls for both Muttiah Muralitharan and, in his second Test, Dilhara Fernando - but at this stage of the game it is Kirsten's effort that seems to be proving more significant.

Kirsten made 275 against England here last year and for nine-and-a-half hours over the first two days of this match he looked equally imperturbable. No one is ever going to remember Kirsten as an artist - unlike his elder brother Peter - but he is a supreme craftsman and the one South African batsman capable of building big scores.

The South Africans tried to bat around him and with Daryll Cullinan making 59 on the first day and Lance Klusener (50) and Nicky Boje (32), they will think they made a reasonable job of it.

Muralitharan confirmed afterwards that although Sri Lanka think they're still in the match, "they scored about 70 more than they should have".

The biggest plus for Sri Lanka, though, came in the gangling, 21-year-year old shape of Dilhara who proved he can work up real pace. It was the first time, he confirmed afterwards, that he'd bowled in a match where he could see how fast he was bowling and his top speed - 147km/h recorded on the first day - pleased him no end.

The contrast between Fernando's hard work and the general listlessness of both Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa was particularly pronounced and it is fair to say that the final bowling figures - five for Muralitharan, five for Fernando and none for anyone else - were a dead accurate reflection of who did all the work in the Sri Lankan attack.

Sri Lanka aren't out of the match at this stage, of course, but they are behind and if South Africa break through early on the third morning, the tourists will have a job of it to avoid defeat. At the same time, if the Sri Lankans can get within striking range of 420, they do have Muralitharan. He might yet prove a decisive factor.