The victory was made possible by Keshav Maharaj‘s brilliant bowling display and the home side’s solid batting performance. On the final day of the match, Sri Lanka required 143 runs to win but were bowled out for 238 in just 70 minutes. Keshav Maharaj was the pick of SA’s bowlers as the Lankans perished for 238. The Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj took five wickets for 76 runs in 25 overs, including three maidens. South Africa clinched a 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka after winning the 2nd Test by 109 runs at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.
This was Keshav Maharaj’s 11th five-wicket haul in Test cricket, with six of them coming in home conditions. Keshav Maharaj, who has been South Africa’s mainstay spinner across formats, now owns 193 wickets from 56 Tests at an average of 29.67.Notably, more than 110 of his Test wickets have come away from home. Keshav Maharaj owns 81 Test wickets at home.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : “Good morning from a windy Gqeberha. The drying westerly is pumping: win the toss and bat. Adrian Carter, the curator, says he took a smidgen of grass off the pitch this morning, but it’s pretty much still the 8mm long it was yesterday. And if you’re wondering how to say Gqeberha properly, it’s a bit like fastening your seatbelt on a plane – lay the underside of your tongue on the roof of your mouth and pull the tongue down quickly until you hear a click. That’s how you pronounce a Q in isiXhosa.” reckons Telford Vice from the venue.
Toss : South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat with two changes in the playing XI bringing in Ryan Rickelton and Dane Paterson for Wiaan Mulder and Gerald Coetzee. Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya De Silva bowling first made no changes in the playing XI from the first match and decided to go with the same team.
Day 1 : Late strikes lift Sri Lanka after Ryan Rickleton’s maiden ton on Day 1
Sri Lanka struck twice late on the opening day to pull back the momentum and limit South Africa to 269 for 7 on Thursday at St George’s Park. Ryan Rickleton’s maiden century, sandwiched by a flurry of wickets on either end of the day, left the second Test in balance at the end of the first day’s play.
Sri Lanka had seized the early momentum in the contest after South Africa had elected to bat. It came as early as the first ball of the second over when Toni de Zorzi was undone by a low full-toss from Asitha Fernando. He missed the flick and was trapped leg-before. For as certain as the Sri Lankans were with the dismissal, going up in celebration even before appealing, Zorzi took his chances and was declared out for a first-ball duck on umpire’s call after taking the review.
Aiden Markram cracked a few fine boundaries to get going strongly early on in his innings, but was undone by Lahiru Kumara’s pace. The ball nipped back in after pitching and cleaned up the opener. At the back of his 100th Test wicket, he soon had even Tristan Stubbs caught behind to reduce the hosts to 44 for 3.
The early advantage was, however, not cashed upon. Temba Bavuma’s counter-attacking cricket and Rickleton’s watchful batting turned the tide in South Africa’s favour soon enough. Even as they went to Lunch with the contest still in balance, the momentum had shifted clearly in favour of South Africa.
Bavuma, who had rocked on to his backfoot to pull a six off Prabath Jayasuriya in the last over before Lunch, started stepping out against the spinner and hitting him for boundaries down the ground in the second session.
Rickleton, who had largely played the second fiddle in the fourth-wicket partnership, also picked up pace after drinks in the second session, taking advantage of the errors in line and lengths by the pacers. He was especially productive on the offside. The duo also remained busy in the middle, turning the strike over at a quick pace, ensuring the scoreboard kept moving.
Bavuma, who was more active in taking on the short deliveries, eventually fell to the short-ball ploy by Asitha, only a few minutes before Lunch, gloving the ball to the ‘keeper, on 78. By then, he had already added 133 for the second wicket with Rickleton, who had also notched up his half-century.
Soon into the last session of the day, Prabath Jayasuriya brought an end to a short but painful stay of David Bedingham, who had already been dropped twice in 18 deliveries before eventually getting cleaned up by the spinner. Reduced to 186 for 5 despite the century-stand, Rickleton was yet again trusted with rebuilding South Africa’s innings, this time in the company of Kyle Verreynne.
The duo were cautious to begin with, but Sri Lankan pacers erred with their lengths ample times to allow the batters to put away the short deliveries for boundaries and get the innings going again. As the partnership flourished, they also became more proactive in picking the singles and twos.
In the last hour of the day Rickelton, who had copped ample blows on his body, nudged a good length delivery towards mid on for a single to bring up his maiden Test ton. However, even as Verreynne accelerated from thereon, cracking three boundaries, Rickleton couldn’t add much to his landmark score.
With only two overs of play left, he was out, edging Kumara to gully, bringing an end to a 77-run stand. In the next over, Marco Jansen inside edge an inswinging delivery by Vishwa Fernando on to his stumps. Verreynne went to stumps unbeaten on 48.
Day 2 : Collective batting effort powers Sri Lanka’s fightback on Day 2
A collective batting effort, led by Pathum Nissanka’s 89, steered Sri Lanka to a good position in the second Test, at the end of second day’s play at St George’s Park. The visitors went to Stumps on Friday (December 6) at 242 for 3 after earlier bundling out South Africa for 358 despite Kyle Verreynne’s century.
Having reduced the hosts to 269 for 7 on the opening day, Sri Lanka struck early on the second morning through Vishwa Fernando, having Keshav Maharaj caught at slip for a duck. However, a counter-attacking 66-run stand for the ninth-wicket between Verreynne and Kagiso Rabada proved extremely handy as the hosts managed to put up a reasonably strong total.
Sri Lankan pacers attempted to tempt the duo with a short-ball ploy, and it backfired. Both Rabada and Verreynne went for their shots and picked up useful boundaries. Rabada was eventually undone when he was hoping for a short-ball to come his way and remained rooted at the crease.
Asitha Fernando, however, broke through his defence with a length delivery and cleaned him up. With just the No. 11 to give company, Verreynne went for his shots, and in a space of five balls, smoked three sixes and brought up his century. Dane Paterson also added a couple of boundaries before getting a thick edge to a swipe and getting out caught.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, made a reasonable cautious start. They were aided by the erratic direction of bowling early on, picking up 12 runs in byes before heading for the Lunch break. South Africa struck early in the second session with Dimuth Karunaratne edging a cut off Rabada to the ‘keeper. But a cautious Nissanka and an attacking Dinesh Chandimal ensured that the momentum didn’t shift in favour of the hosts. Nissanka, especially, had his moments of luck with a couple of close leg before appeals and a dropped chance.
The duo added 109 runs for the second wicket which firmly shifted the control in Sri Lanka’s favour. Nissanka got going with a couple of cracking boundaries right after Tea and soon, brought up his seventh Test fifty. He even slog swept Maharaj for a six as Chandimal had by then resorted to a more dour approach. After being kept quiet for a while, the senior batter was looking a bit desperate and eventually edged Paterson to the ‘keeper to fall on 44.
Sri Lanka slowed down for a while, largely rotating the strike, before Angelo Mathews picked up a flurry of boundaries to bring back pace to the innings. And just when it seemed they were again taking control, Nissanka missed an attempted slow sweep off Maharaj and was clean bowled.
At 199 for 3, Sri Lanka slowed down in the last hour of the day. Nonetheless, an undefeated 43-run stand, with starts to both Mathews and Kamindu Mendis has left them in good stead heading into the third day’s play. They now trail South Africa by 116 runs.
Day 3 : All-round South Africa take dominant position in Gqeberha after Dane Paterson’s 5-fer
A jittery Kusal Mendis managed to drag Sri Lanka’s score towards the 300-run mark but any hopes of a first-innings lead vanished in a matter of six deliveries as Dane Paterson produced a stunning three-wicket over to rattle the visitors. Sri Lanka just couldn’t recover from that as they lost their final two wickets after play resumed post lunch, handing South Africa a slender lead of 30 runs.
With the match reduced almost to a second-innings shootout, South Africa had to begin well. And they did exactly that as the openers blunted the new ball and managed to score vital runs as well. Aiden Markram played some delightful strokes and Tony de Zorzi played the ideal foil at the other end. Against the run of play, Asitha Fernando dismissed the left-hander to end the opening stand but South Africa kept coasting.
Successive boundaries from Markram brought up his fifty but just when it looked like he would cash in for a big one, he chased a wide delivery only to get a thick edge. He was visibly frustrated on his way back to the pavilion and Sri Lanka found an opening to break into that middle order when Prabath Jayasuriya trapped Ryan Rickelton with the lead still at 139.
A couple of more wickets at that point in time would have brought Sri Lanka back into the contest straightaway. However, Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs were at it again, just like they were in the first Test. They saw off a probing spell from Asitha Fernando and Jayasuriya and it was only after the drinks break the duo managed to take control again.
Both batters were content rotating the strike and the odd boundary, including a couple of sixes for Bavuma, were available as well. Their patient partnership guided the lead beyond 200 and South Africa would now fancy themselves to go for the kill on the fourth day.
Day 4 : SA chip away but SL still alive in tall chase on Day 4
The second Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Gqeberha was interestingly poised after the visitors staged a commendable comeback in the tall run chase towards the end of the fourth day’s play. As a result, Sri Lanka needed 143 runs on the final day whereas South Africa will have to pick up the final five wickets for a series win.
The fact that Sri Lanka still remain in the hunt in the tall chase of 348 was largely down to the fight shown by Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis. Sri Lanka had already lost their openers before Tea and hence pinned their hopes heavily on the middle order trio of Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis. Mathews did begin the final session with a boundary but Kagiso Rabada asked questions of the batter’s defence for the rest of the over.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka pulled things back in the morning session after Temba Bavuma went past fifty once again in the series. Prabath Jayasuriya was the wrecker-in-chief as he kept striking at key intervals to pick up a five-fer. South Africa still managed to drag their lead past the 300-run mark and post lunch, a few crucial boundaries from the tail almost pumped up that lead to 350, before Rabada and Paterson struck once each prior to that see-saw final session.
At the other end, Dane Paterson made an immediate impact to dent the visitors by trapping Chandimal lbw. He almost had Kamindu as well in his following over but the batter managed to reverse the decision. Kamindu then picked back-to-back boundaries off Marco Jansen to get going and even whipped one over backward square leg for a six. Runs were flowing quite freely for the visitors at this point with even Mathews clearing the ropes once off Keshav Maharaj.
Against the run of play after the duo had raised over 50 for the fourth wicket, Keshav Maharaj managed to sneak one past Mathews’ defence to break the promising stand. South Africa were then all over the Sri Lankans with the big wicket of Kamindu as Kyle Verreynne completed an excellent diving catch to send the batter back to the pavilion. One more wicket at that stage would have allowed South Africa a crack at the Sri Lankan lower order but Kusal walked out with a positive frame of mind, targeting Keshav Maharaj in particular for a few boundaries.
Dhananjaya on his part looked in solid touch as well as kept picking Paterson and Keshav Maharaj for a flurry of boundaries to eat into the target. Sri Lanka eventually finished on a strong note and would hope these two can carry on their good work to pick up a memorable win on the final day but the home side know that one wicket would give them an opening to capitalize on.
Day 5 : Keshav Maharaj 5-fer wraps up 2-0 win to take South Africa to the top of WTC table vs SL
Keshav Maharaj completed his tenth Test five-for, and fourth at St George’s Park, and took four of the final five wickets on the last morning. Sri Lanka lost five wickets for 19 runs in 62 balls in a lower-order collapse that undid their work from the previous day. They were fairly well set overnight and resumed on 202 for 5, with two batters well-set on a fairly placid pitch.
Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva’s sixth-wicket partnership was worth 83 and they both looked comfortable against a South African attack who admitted to searching a little too hard on the fourth day.
They returned fresh on the final morning, with a fired-up Kagiso Rabada still finding a hint of away movement in the easterly breeze. Keshav Maharaj broke the Kusal-Dhananjaya stand in the seventh over of the morning with a delivery that turned away from Kusal as he drove with hard hands. Aiden Markam took the catch low to the ground and the third umpire needed to check that he had fingers underneath it to confirm Kusal’s dismissal.
Buoyed by that early breakthrough, South Africa received a massive boost in their quest for victory very soon when the last recognized batter Dhananjaya pushed one outside off to edge it behind. The half-centurion’s departure was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for Sri Lanka.
Fourteen deliveries later, Rabada was rewarded for spells of accuracy and menace through the series with the wicket of the Sri Lankan captain. Dhananjaya drove at a ball that tailed away, edged and was caught behind.
With no recognized batters left, it was only a matter of time for Sri Lanka’s tail. Prabath Jayasuriya’s eyes lit up when Keshav Maharaj produced a long-hop and tried to smoke it over the offside but found the hands of Temba Bavuma at extra cover. Sri Lanka made it to the drinks’ break but in the second over after the interval, Vishwa Fernando slogged across the line and sent the ball aerial.
Marco Jansen at mid-on had enough time to get under it and take a simple catch. Jansen was given the ball in the next over and only needed one short delivery to get rid of Lahiru Kumara, who swung hard and top-edged. Ryan Rickelton, at short mid-wicket, judged the catch well in a mild swirl and completed South Africa’s series win.
Despite getting a reprieve, Prabath Jayasuriya couldn’t cash in and was in fact left to rue his shot as he hit a half-tracker from Keshav Maharaj straight to cover. The game was then done and dusted just seven balls after the drinks break as Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen picked up a wicket each to give the hosts another win that has now put them on top of the WTC standings.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Temba Bavuma the winning skipper and Player of the Series said : Firstly, good to be back, was frustrating watching the guys from the sidelines, was good to be amongst them. Was hungry to get back and get the opportunity to be back, happy to have made the most of the opportunities that I got. Durban was tricky on Day 1, conditions overhead, but I just focused on keeping the scoreboard moving, kept the intent, was fresh mentally and physically and could contribute to the team.
This Test match was a proper test of Test cricket, it’s not often that you get to play on 5 days. There were times when we were on top, at times Sri Lanka looked good. A lot of credit to them, they really made us work hard, the batting was outstanding with seven of them having made centuries at this level.
We’ll take a lot of pride as batters, Ashwell (Prince, the batting coach) talks a lot about taking the opportunities, all of us are really happy for Rickelton who took his chances here. Jansen did well in the first Test, Paterson did well here. I think we’re doing well as a team, no.1 in the WTC table as of now, don’t know what’ll happen in the future, but we’ll celebrate today, in a couple of weeks, we’ve Pakistan coming up, we’ll have to keep our focus on that and continue on our journey.
Dhananjaya De Silva the losing skipper said : This game was pretty tight, the boys fought hard and we were in the game till the last day, but it wasn’t good enough. Obviously the conditions are very different to that of home, the bowlers kept asking questions, even the spinners.
It was a good challenge, but they were better than us. We played better cricket, but not good enough to get results in our favour. We are getting better, but we need to spend our 100%, that’s what I want my team to do moving forward. We don’t have any set plans for that series as of now (on the upcoming Tests against Australia).
Dane Paterson Player of the Match for his fifer said : It feels very good, basically a team MoM, because Rickelton, Bavuma, Maharaj performed well on different days and today KG bowled really well. It’s a good feeling, put in the work and get rewarded by bowling long spells.
Happy to have won the game, thrilled to win a match that finished on Day 5. We play this game because we love it, I love bowling and coming at the batters every time, it’s just a surreal feeling. It’s all sinking in, I didn’t notice that I took 3 wickets in an over, everything was happening quickly, but it’s a win for the team and we keep marching on.
Sri Lanka were competitive for most part of the Test, but they’ll look back and rue the dramatic collapse on the third morning, the main reason for the loss here at Gqeberha. On an even-paced pitch, both teams put up a good show in the first innings. While Rickleton’s hundred set-up the hosts on the first day, it was Kyle Verreynne’s hundred with the tail that really took them to a good score on the second.
Pathum Nissanka made 89 in the reply and there were as many as three scores in the 40s in the middle-order, but things fell apart on the third morning as they lost five wickets in the first hour and a bit, ensuring that they ended up with a deficit of 30 runs. South Africa’s second dig was more measured and almost everyone chipped in as they went past 300 once again.
Keshav Maharaj’s spin was too much for Angelo Mathews, who knocked over for 32. Kamindu Mendis maintained the attacking intent with a brisk 35 before falling to a Keshav Maharaj delivery. Kyle Verreynne took a spectacular catch to dismiss him. This was another key moment in South Africa’s path to victory in the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka.
Set a record target at this venue, the visitors kept fighting, but they kept losing wickets in clusters and that meant they finished second best. This series loss all but ensures that their WTC25 final hopes are shattered, but not so for the hosts who move to the top of the table with today’s win.
The trophy has been presented to Bavuma and the rest of the team join for the celebrations. Lots of happy faces, lots of them singing and the team looks like one solid outfit, happy for each other’s success. Two contrasting Tests in Durban and Gqeberha and South Africa have aced both challenges. They’re now in pole position to secure one of the final berth for that WTC25 final at Lord’s, but they can’t be thinking too far ahead.
They’ve Pakistan coming up very very shortly and that’ll be a different challenge. For Sri Lanka, they came back hard after a dismal first innings in Durban, but they still fell well short. Memories of past performances at both these venues have vanished, but they’ll certainly take the positives back home. They’ll wind up their WTC25 cycle with a 2-Test series in Galle against Australia and they’ll look to finish well.
South Africa have moved to the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) table after a 109-run win over Sri Lanka at St George’s Park. They swept the series 2-nil after bowling Sri Lanka out for 238 in 69 minutes on the final morning with the second new ball still 10.5 overs away.
South Africa are now one win away from a guaranteed place at next year’s final. They can get there with a victory over Pakistan at home in either the Boxing Day and New Year’s match, which are their last of this cycle. Sri Lanka remain in contention but must beat Australia at home early next year and hope other results go their way. The turnaround time for South Africa is less as they will be back in a little more than 24 hours to face Pakistan in the first T20I .