Mini-session analysis for 2nd Test SA SL 11/12

Here is the final mini-session analysis for the 2nd Test.

Session	Score	Winner
1-1a	Sri Lanka 48/2 off 13	South Africa
1-1b	Sri Lanka 64/1 off 15	Sri Lanka
1-2a	Sri Lanka 40/1 off 13	Sri Lanka
1-2b	Sri Lanka 45/1 off 16	South Africa
1-3a	Sri Lanka 48/0 off 15	Sri Lanka
1-3b	Sri Lanka 49/2 off 17.3	South Africa
2-1a	Sri Lanka 33/0 off 14.3	Sri Lanka
2-1b	Sri Lanka 16/3 off 4.2	South Africa
	South Africa 15/0 off 6
2-2a	South Africa 40/3 off 14	Sri Lanka
2-2b	South Africa 45/0 off 14	South Africa
2-3a	South Africa 32/5 off 12	Sri Lanka
2-3b	South Africa 56/2 off 8.4	South Africa
	Sri Lanka 7/1 off 2.1
3-1a	Sri Lanka 26/1 off 10.5	South Africa
3-1b	Sri Lanka 32/0 off 9	Sri Lanka
3-2a	Sri Lanka 46/0 off 12	Sri Lanka
3-2b	Sri Lanka 44/2 off 10	Sri Lanka*
3-2c	Sri Lanka 52/0 off 12	Sri Lanka
3-3a	Sri Lanka 49/2 off 14.3	South Africa
4-1a	Sri Lanka 23/3 off 7.5	South Africa
	South Africa 49/1 off 13
4-1b	South Africa 37/0 off 13	South Africa
4-2a	South Africa 30/3 off 12	Sri Lanka
4-2b	South Africa 20/0 off 15	South Africa*
4-3a	South Africa 53/0 off 15	South Africa
4-3b	South Africa 52/4 off 19.3	Sri Lanka

So despite Sri Lanka winning the match convincingly, the mini-session count is even, 12-12. I had to make a decision about who to award mini-session 3-2b to, as it was right on the border, and was too short (less than 12 overs) for my established rules to apply. In ordinary situations that would have gone to South Africa, but in the context of the game the quick runs meant that Sri Lanka were probably in a better position to win the match after that session than they were before it. Likewise mini-session 4-2b which would have gone to Sri Lanka if it was not for the context of the game. Slow scoring without losing any runs was exactly what South Africa needed to do.

The result did not reflect the nature of game, which was quite even for the majority of the match, with the exception of one mini-session where South Africa's 100/3 became 132/8. That spell by Welegedara, Herath and (less effectively) Fernando defined this match. Herath won Man of the Match, and it was appropriate that either he or Welegedara got it, as they really set up the victory.

Overall South Africa should still be favourites for the third test. Despite the convincing scorecard, this game was even for the majority of the sessions.

The good news is that there is a third test. The South Africa-Australia and Australia-New Zealand series would have both been much better with a 3rd test.