Fast bowler Marco Jansen finished with figures of 28.3-6-86-11 as South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 233 runs in the opening Test at the Kingsmead in Durban. South Africa’s Marco Jansen became only the fourth bowler to take 10 or more wickets in a Test at the Kingsmead in Durban.
Marco Jansen’s match figures of 28.3-6-86-11 are also the second-best amongst all bowlers in Tests in Durban. Grimmett holds the record after he finished with figures of 93-41-173-13 against the Proteas back in February 1936. Muralidaran took an eight-wicket haul against South Africa in 2000, while Prasad rattled the hosts back in 1996.
The left-handed bowler achieved the feat in the opening Test of the series against Dhananjaya de Silva’s Sri Lanka. The other bowlers to have taken 10-wicket hauls in Durban are Australia’s Clarence Grimmett, Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralidaran and India’s Venkatesh Prasad.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch report: Its gonna be a sporting wicket, gonna be a good challenge for the South African batters. The wind is gonna be a challenge as well. It is gonna assist the quicker bowlers early on. An area round about good length, there is a good covering of grass. It does traditionally spin here, but for the first couple of days it is gonna be for the seamers. Can feel it (the surface) is a touch soft,” reckon Hashim Amla and Mike Haysman.
Toss : Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya De Silva won the toss and chose to field with 3 seamers in the playing XI . South Africa under new skipper Temba Bavuma batting first aims to score more in the first innings
Day 1 : SL pacers rip through SA top-order in rain-curtailed day 1
Sri Lanka’s pacers made full use of the lively morning conditions in Durban as they ripped through South Africa’s top order on the first day. Having chosen to bowl, the visitors got the ball moving early on conditions favoring seam movement. With a bit of cloud cover as well, batting was far from easy although Aiden Markram started off with couple of crisp boundaries off Asitha Fernando. But the pacer had the final word as he had Markram nicking while poking at a delivery outside off.
At the other end, Vishwa Fernando had Tony de Zorzi punching and nicking to the slip cordon in the following over. Having lost their openers within the space of three balls, South Africa were on the backfoot straightaway. Tristan Stubbs and Temba Bavuma arrested the slide for a brief period, seeing off the spell from the opening bowlers and giving some evidence of settling in.
Lahiru Kumara was hit for 17 in his first over as South Africa landed their first blows back. But that joy was short-lived, for Kumara had Stubbs nicking in his following over. Kumara added the cherry on top as David Bedingham then chopped on in his following over, leaving South Africa in tatters at 54/4.
Bavuma, through the carnage, offered steadfast defence to hold one end up after being dropped on 1 by Karunaratne off Vishwa. Along with Kyle Verreynne, he saw South Africa through in the first session which was curtailed by the onset of rain. The rest of the day was washed out due to persistent rain with South Africa on the backfoot.
Day 2 : Marco Jansen headlines 19-wicket Day 2 to put South Africa in command
It took South Africa only 83 balls to bowl Sri Lanka out for 42 – their lowest-ever Test score – as Marco Jansen bagged stunning figures of 7/13. It paved the way for South Africa to end with an overall lead of 281 on a day where 19 wickets fell in total.
The seaming track in Durban proved to be a nightmare and Sri Lanka had no answers as batter after batter either nicked off or were bowled with none looking secure in defence. While Kagiso Rabada started the carnage having Dimuth Karunaratne nicking to first slip, Marco Jansen proved to be the wrecker-in-chief.
Marco Jansen had Pathum Nissanka pushing out at a delivery angled across and edging while Dinesh Chandimal was cleaned up with a delivery that seamed in. Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva were dismissed trying to force the pace while the tail was left as clueless as the top-order. In between Gerald Coetzee chipped in with the dismissals of Kamindu and Kusal Mendis leaving Sri Lanka in complete disarray.
As they were bowled out for the lowest total against South Africa, Marco Jansen’s 41-ball spell had yielded the third-best figures by a South African pacer at home. The lead of 149 was the highest for South Africa in games where they had been bowled out for less than 200. On a low-scoring, bowler-friendly surface the lead was monumental. Only a while before that, as they scraped their way to 191 on the back of Temba Bavuma’s 70, South Africa were firmly in the backseat.
While more than two sessions were washed out on the opening day, the second day saw Sri Lanka continue to trouble South Africa under bright sunshine. Their pacers had skittled through the top-order under cloudy conditions on the first day, and it continued even when the sun was out. There was enough on the pitch to keep pacers Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando in their opening spells.
The former added to this two wickets on the first day by trapping Kyle Verreynne plumb in front early on the second day. Kumara also struck Wiaan Mulder on the glove soon after and forced him off the field, which was later revealed to be a fractured finger.
Now reduced to 85/6 effectively in Mulder’s absence, South Africa were in dire need of a partnership and someone to give company to the resolute Temba Bavuma.
The skipper found his man in Marco Jansen for a while as the duo held fort with a heavy focus on defence. But Sri Lanka responded to this with the introduction of spin in the form of Prabhat Jayasuriya. the tall left-arm spinner attacked the stumps consistently and it paid dividends when he eventually beat Jansen’s defence to catch him plumb in front. South Africa’s review too went in vain and even as Bavuma neared a half-century, he lost another partner.
Gerald Coetzee did not show the defensive temperament that Jansen had showed and an attempted big hit against Jayasuriya was miscued to deep midwicket where Kamindu Mendis took a good low catch diving forward. But Keshav Maharaj, who came in next, took some pressure off Bavuma by lofting Jayasuriya down the ground twice and then hitting him inside out over cover to gather some useful boundaries. Bavuma, who had been stuck on 49 through this period, trickled over to a hard-fought fifty, his 22nd in Tests.
But just as Maharaj was looking comfortable, Sri Lanka changed the plan around and attacked him with pace from both ends. That move worked wonders as soon enough Maharaj chipped Vishwa Fernando to mid off leaving South Africa precariously poised.
Bavuma went on the offensive soon after driving Kumara through cover and straight down the ground and even upper-cutting him for a six. Mulder had been deemed available if necessary, and he was required to bat as Bavuma eventually skied a big hit off Asitha Fernando to be dismissed for 70. Mulder hung in as the last wicket pair added 26 before Rabada pulled one down to fine leg, as South Africa finished with 191.
But after getting the big lead, their second innings progressed on a stronger note. Markram started off confidently, and added 47 for the opening stand with De Zorzi. But Jayasuriya ended the stand having De Zorzi caught at deep midwicket to bag his 100th Test wicket.
The injured Mulder made a surprise appearance at No. 3 and added 30 with Markram before the latter was cleaned up from the round-the-wicket angle by Vishwa Fernando three short of a half-century. Mulder himself didn’t last too long thereafter being trapped in the front by Jayasuriya. However, Bavuma and Stubbs dug in to extend the lead to 281 by Stumps on an eventful second day.
Day 3 : Dominant South Africa edge closer to big win on Day 3
South Africa put up another dominant show on the third day against Sri Lanka that has put them on the brink of a huge win in the first Test in Durban. Tristan Stubbs and Temba Bavuma hit fine centuries to keep the Sri Lankans at bay that set the visitors a massive target of 516. The South African bowlers were on the money once again as they removed half the Sri Lankan side by stumps.
South Africa began the day with a wicketless opening session that rubber-stamped their authority on the game. Bavuma hit the second ball of the day for a boundary and Stubbs opened up as well a few overs later after a watchful start. The two batters continued to pile on the runs and went past their respective half-centuries. Vishwa Fernando had an opportunity at one point to dismiss both of them but it just wasn’t Sri Lanka’s day.
Post lunch, the two batters continued in the same vein. Stubbs hit Dhananjaya de Silva for a boundary and then hammered Kamindu Mendis for a six to enter the 90s and Bavuma at the other end looked solid as well. Even though Sri Lanka took the new ball immediately after it became available, their fortunes didn’t change. Stubbs brought up his second Test ton and Bavuma followed suit after the drinks break.
There was a clear sign of switching gears as Stubbs appeared to go into T20 mode before eventually losing his wicket. David Bedingham walked out with intent as well smashing his first two balls for a four and a six. South Africa’s lead went past 500 before Bavuma was trapped lbw at the stroke of Tea which prompted a declaration.
With the ball, the home side wasted a review very early but that didn’t really matter much. Kagiso Rabada drew first blood as Dimuth Karunaratne chased a wide delivery, only to get an edge. Pathum Nissanka then went on the offensive, targeting Gerald Coetzee for three fours in an over and he even received a reprieve in the next over when Rabada overstepped. However, the opener couldn’t cash in and was trapped lbw in the very next over.
Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews then hit a flurry of boundaries to get going and build a nice little partnership. At one point, it did appear like the experienced pair would steer Sri Lanka to safety by stumps.
But Marco Jansen came round the wicket to trap Mathews lbw to dismiss him for the second time in the Test. South Africa then bagged the big wicket of Kamindu Mendis before a stunning catch from Tony de Zorzi at short leg saw Jayasuriya depart as well before stumps. Sri Lanka now need an almost improbable 413 more to win with just five wickets in hand.
Day 4 : Marco Jansen’s career-best delivers big win for South Africa by 233 runs over Sri Lanka to boost chance of WTC finals
Under blue skies and with a dry wind blowing, the pitch was placid on day four as well and Sri Lanka took advantage. Chandimal and Dhananjaya put on a sixth-wicket stand of 95 runs before Chandimal and Mendis combined for 75 against a South African attack that was without the injured Wiaan Mulder and the movement of the first three days.
Earlier in the morning, Sri Lanka saw through some tough overs from Kagiso Rabada to go to Lunch at 220/7, having added 117 runs for the loss of just the one wicket.
Maharaj was the only successful bowler all session, getting Dhananjaya de Silva caught at midwicket, but it was Rabada who stood out. The first over from him had a ball jump up and then stay down but he also troubled the batters on both edges of the bat, keeping them on their toes but unfortunately with nothing to show for.
De Silva and Chandimal started the day in a stoic manner, offering tight defenses and not following the misbehaving ball. The two brought up the fifty-run partnership in the 15th over of the day, with both the batters bringing up their individual fifties soon after and looking good for many more.
De Silva even hit a six against Maharaj, who did beat the bat a fair few times on a fourth day pitch, and even bowled a couple of maidens, but Sri Lanka found a way to pick singles off him. But the partnership, worth 95, ended a few overs before Lunch as de Silva chipped one straight to midwicket.
Still, South Africa started threateningly when Kagiso Rabada beat Dhananjaya’s edge with the fifth ball of the morning and Gerald Coetzee found it with the 12th. The chance fell to the left of Marco Jansen at gully. Dhananjaya responded by piercing the midwicket gap to hit Rabada for four and pulling Coetzee in front of square. Chandimal also dealt with a Coetzee short ball well and cut him for four through point.
Rabada bowled a five-over spell that cost 18 runs without success, and once he was off, Sri Lanka’s pair could settle in. Dhananjaya drove Marco Jansen through the covers, Chandimal whacked him in the same area to bring up the 150 and they both took on Maharaj, who got almost no turn. By the first drinks break, Sri Lanka had scored 61 runs in 16 overs at a rate of just under four to the over.
Chandimal brought up his fifty immediately after the interval with an authoritative pull off Marco Jansen and Dhananjaya reached his milestone in the next over, off 66 balls, a sign of the aggression with which he batted. He played one more shot in anger when he hit Maharaj over long-off for six. Maharaj had the last laugh, though, when Dhananjaya chipped an innocuous delivery to Tristan Stubbs at short midwicket for 59.
That brought Mendis, on the back of four ducks in South Africa, to the crease. He got his first runs in five innings with a cover drive that went for four, and also raised the Sri Lankan 200. He was nearly run out later in the over when he took off for a run without conferring with Chandimal but made it back in time.
South Africa brought back Rabada for a pre-lunch burst but a selection of short balls were well negotiated. Rabada also took his no-ball count for the innings to 10, with five in the morning session as Sri Lanka went to lunch on 220 for 6. They scored 117 runs in 32 overs in an extended first session
The 10 overs post lunch were laced with gifts from South Africa as Sri Lanka piled on 47 runs helped by a team that could afford to try things, given the runs at their disposal. Without a gully in place, Mendis square drove Marco Jansen for four and then took 15 runs off his 19th over, as Marco Jansen missed his lengths completely. Maharaj was also on the receiving end of Mendis’ aggression as he moved in sight of a half-century.
Not long into his third spell, Coetzee sent down a half-volley down leg and it seemed South Africa could get nothing right either side of the pitch. His next ball was on middle and Chandimal tried to flick it away but closed the face of the bat too early and got a leading edge back to Coetzee. He let his relief out into the pitch with a series of throat-curdling screams.
In the next over, Maharaj drew Vishwa Fernando forward and had him caught at slip by Aiden Markram. Marco Jansen was brought back and he cleaned things up when he had Mendis caught behind to take his 10th for the match and bowled Asitha Fernando as he tried to cover the line of a ball sliding down leg. Marco Jansen’s 11 for 86 are the second-best figures at Kingsmead after Clarrie Grimmett’s 13 for 173 in 1936.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Temba Bavuma the winning SA skipper said : Very happy. Tough cricket out there. We were in a tough position in the first innings, we knew we always felt that the belief was there. We saw how the pitch was playing and saw that the conditions were favorable to seamers, obviously we didn’t expect to get wickets that quickly but we knew the conditions were in favour of the bowlers. The wicket slowed up a little bit, but it didn’t happen consistently.
We knew it was going to be a toil as Mulder was not available and Gerald not fully fit, but the rest – Rabada and Jansen played their part. The medical staff will do their job and we will assess accordingly (talking about the injury of Gerald Coetzee).
That probably is one of our goal as a team (reaching the WTC final), I said to the guys coming into the series that we need to be focused internally on what we can do let the things outside take care of themselves. Looking forward to it (second Test) and hopefully the weather behaves….
Dhananjaya De Silva the losing Sri Lanka skipper said : We lost the grip when we batted in the first innings. Also with the ball, we bowled well in the first innings, but didn’t exert enough pressure in the second half. We could have bowled them out under 150 in the first innings and things could have been different maybe.
We didn’t have time to breathe, Jansen was brilliant with the ball. We had a bit of plans in the second innings, it worked but it was too late. In the past as well, we have batted well in these conditions and it is only in the first innings we didn’t do well. Tried our best, but couldn’t deliver.
Marco Jansen Player of the Match for his 11 wickets said : Always dreamed of five, but never thought I will get 10, but this is what you work for. It hasn’t sunk in yet (talking about his first innings performance). In the second innings, we thought the surface was a bit flatter, slow and low but getting 11 wickets is a dream come true. Now the body feels a lot stronger.
South Africa have moved to second place on the World Test Championship (WTC) table after a 233-run victory over Sri Lanka in Durban to break the visitors’ unbeaten record at the venue. Marco Jansen finished with 11 wickets in the game with 4 for 73 in the second innings.
After setting Sri Lanka a target of 516 and taking five wickets on the third evening, South Africa may have expected play on the fourth day to be nothing more than a formality. But they were made to work for their win after half-centuries from Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva and 48 from Kusal Mendis made them toil until deep into the second session. Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 282, an improvement on their first-innings effort by multiples.
Ultimately, they will look back at the 78 minutes of madness, in which they were bowled out for 42, as where the match was lost. It gave South Africa a 149-run first-innings lead, the best batting conditions of the match and the cushioning to build a big lead at their own pace. They then got to work defending it.
South Africa were asked to bat on a cloudy opening morning. 74/4 at lunch. Lost a vital cog in Mulder due to a finger injury very early on day 2. All-out under 200. The hosts were under immense pressure at the end of the morning session on day 2. With Mulder unavailable to bowl, the pace trio of Rabada-Jansen-Coetzee had to do something spectacular to bring them back into the game, and respond wonderfully they did.
Rabada started it off with the wicket of Karunaratne and Marco Jansen followed it up with his best-ever innings figures in Test cricket. The lanky left-armer bowled unchanged from one end and finished with 7/13 in 6.5 overs while Coetzee added two to his tally. With a healthy lead of 149, all South Africa needed to do in the second innings was to bat sensibly and pounce on the under-pressure-and-exhausted bowlers.
Skipper Bavuma, like in the first innings, led the way with a magnificent century and he was ably supported by another centurion in Stubbs who got involved in a record-breaking 249-stand for the fourth wicket. That partnership not only helped the lead swell to 500, but also killed whatever tiny hopes of a comeback for Sri Lanka.
After securing a healthy lead in the first innings, Mulder could have easily sat back and taken rest (as he was advised by the medical staff), but the stubborn all-rounder didn’t pay heed. He walked out to bat at 3 in the second innings and stuck around for a near 10-over partnership with Markram late on day 2. It is also worth noting that he walked out to bat at number 11 (with an injured finger) after being retired hurt in the first innings. Bravo!
13.5 overs. 75 minutes of madness on day 2. That is all it took for Sri Lanka to undo the brilliant work done by their bowlers after winning an important toss on a murky morning. One could argue that there was a lot on offer for the pacers with the ball hooping around all corners and leaving the batters clueless, but it certainly wasn’t a 42 all-out wicket by any means. Whether it was an intent to be ultra-positive or a tactic to reverse the pressure back on the Proteas with boundaries, Sri Lanka got it all wrong with the bat.
Some of their batters chased wide balls while some couldn’t resist playing with hard hands, resulting in a massive implosion that left them playing catch-up for the rest of the Test. Exhausted and disappointed, their bowlers took time to find their lengths, but it was never going to be easy with pitch easing out under bright and sunny conditions. Whatever trick they tried post that, be it with the bat or ball, it was always going to be a classic case of chasing their own tail.
It took South Africa half a session on the fourth afternoon to pick the remaining four wickets and register a 233-run win in this first Test. It was their first victory over Sri Lanka in Durban and their second-biggest ever against the same opposition, a shot in their arm as they look to seal a spot in the World Test Championship final.
Fittingly, it was Marco Jansen who picked the final two wickets to finish with 11 wickets in the match, his first 10-fer in Test cricket and the first by a left-arm seamer for South Africa since re-admission, with Brett Schultz’s 9/106 at Colombo SSC in 1993 being the previous best in this period.
South Africa (leap to second spot on WTC table) doing no harm to their WTC final chances. After a 2-0 series win in Bangladesh, they couldn’t have asked for a better start to their Test summer. This is their 4th straight win and 5th overall in the WTC cycle. They will look to strengthen their case further when they meet Sri Lanka at St George’s Park in Gqeberha for the second and final Test next Thursday.