South Africa are not playing negative - De Villiers

ABdeVilliers

South Africa finished the fourth day of the second and final Test in Colombo on 38-1 in their second innings, 331 runs behind following the hosts' declaration on 229-8.

The tourists need only a draw to win the series after emerging victorious in the first Test in Galle, a result that will see them regain top spot in the world rankings.

And it has at times appeared as if South Africa have been playing for a draw, with their apparent negativity well illustrated by JP Duminy's performance in the first innings, which saw him score a paltry three runs from 58 balls.

Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara questioned South Africa's style at the end of day four, which he believes has benefited the hosts in the encounter.

"Even in the first innings I thought they were playing for time rather than scoring runs. That allowed us to put pressure on them," Sangakkara said.

"The more negative approach you have, the more defensive shots you play. So, we are just happy to have fielders around and make sure they play as defensively as possible."

But De Villiers has rejected those claims, insisting that South Africa are still in with a shot of a series whitewash.

"We are not playing negative cricket, we will assess the situation in the morning and if we have wickets, then we will go for a win," De Villiers said.

"We are very positive that we can pull this off. It means everything to us to win this series in Sri Lanka, so we will do our best to make it happen.

"If I am coming in after tea and we need six or seven an over I might give it a go. After tea, if we have wickets in hands that possibility will be there.

"You've got to find the balance between being positive and defensive. If we've got a sniff at tea-time tomorrow, we might have a go."

De Villiers was also quick to stress the significance of returning to number one in the world.

"It will mean everything to us. It's what we want to be about," he added.

"We don't want to be winning and losing. We want to be consistent. We would hate to lose. We're going to come here positive."

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