The South African cricket team is currently locking horns with Sri Lanka in the ongoing second Test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. The hosts have won the toss and opted to bat first quite similar to the series opener. However, the visitors came to the field while wearing black armbands which left many fans confused. Recently, Tabraiz Shamsi’s father passed away and the players had worn armbands in his memory and have shown support to their teammate.

Soon after the first Test, Shamsi had to fly back home due to personal reasons. But he joined the team a couple of days before the final Test match and made himself available for the same. However, he wasn’t included in the playing XI for the game though as South African team opted for extra pace and went on with Lungi Ngidi.

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However, it has been since confirmed that the reason Shamsi flew back home last to attend his father’s funeral. Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed the news on their official Twitter handle just before the start of the second Test in Colombo.

After opting to bat first, the hosts have begun well with their openers denying a wicket to the opposition. The in-form Dimuth Karunaratne and Danushka Gunathilaka have looked in no problems whatsoever on a dry pitch and it seems that Sri Lanka team is on their way to post a daunting total in the first innings. They were 154/3 after 51 overs just before tea and the visitors will be keen to make a comeback in the second session.

They have already lost the first Test by 278 runs and were guilty of not faring well against the spinners. This game will be no different as the pitch will only worsen from here and they should try and restrict Sri Lanka to the lowest possible score.

The team are wearing black armbands today in memory of Tabraiz Shamsi’s father who passed away last week. #RIP🙏 pic.twitter.com/mLXqvF85cp

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) July 20, 2018