South Africa came in to bat on Day 2 in a comfortable position as opener Elgar and van der Dussen came to bat at 148 for a loss of 1 wicket. Elgar was at 91 while van der Dussen was at a decent 40. The duo kicked off things where they left at the end of Day 1. They added another 70 runs to their partnership. Elgar got to his 13th test ton while Rassie van der Dussen got to his 4th test half-century. Elgar and van der Dussen fell in quick succession as South Africa lost their momentum from a strong situation.
No other African batsman could even cross the 20-run mark as SA wrapped up their innings on 302. Elgar ended up as the highest scorer for the Protean team with his 13th test ton. For Sri Lanka, Vishwa Fernando was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up his first fifer in tests. He was well backed by fellow bowlers as Asitha Fernando and Shanaka picked 2 wickets each. Chameera picked the key wicket of Elgar.
Sri Lanka didn’t get the start they wanted once again as they lost their opener, Kusal Perera for 1. Thirimanne and Karunaratane took the Sri Lankan innings forward as the duo added an 85-run stand for the second wicket. The partnership was broken courtesy of a beautiful delivery from Lungi Ngidi. Lahiru Thirimanne was dismissed after a well made 31. No other batsman provided any resistance other than Lankan skipper Karunaratane. Karunaratane remained not out till the stumps as he went back to the pavilion on 91. Dickwella along with him just tried to remain not out till the stumps as he is not out on 18 off 47 deliveries.
Lungi Ngidi was the star performer with the ball for South Africa as he picked 3 crucial wickets. Nortje who picked 6 wickets in the first innings too picked one wicket in this innings. Sri Lanka ended their day at 150 for the loss of 4 wickets.