A day of firsts at Centurion as SA, SL hang tight

It's the seventh over of the morning, the ball is not quite a dozen overs old, the pitch is alive with possibility, and Anrich Nortje is hoofing towards the crease like one of the snorting steeds of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He bowls... short, way short. Dasun Shanaka shovels the delivery over midwicket as if he was facing a kid in a park somewhere. The six takes Shanaka to his first half-century in his seventh Test innings: the first of the array of firsts that will stud the second day of the first Test at Centurion on Sunday (December 27).

The stroke's audacity is still sparking the air itself two balls later when Shanaka steps wide of the stumps and sends an outrageous slash screaming over the backward point fence. Wisely, Nortje turns on his heel without offering word or gesture.

The day did not start in accordance with South Africa's plans. Sri Lanka were dismissed - nine wickets down because Dhananjaya de Silva