South Africa secured a dominant 233-run win over Sri Lanka on day four of the first Test at Kingsmead, Durban, despite fighting knocks from Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva, with Marco Jansen’s 11-wicket haul sealing the victory.
Chasing a daunting target of 516 and already reduced to 103/5, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva resumed the fourth day. South Africa hoped to wrap up the innings within the first session, but the overnight batters refused to go down without a fight.
They nearly batted through the entire session until de Silva’s soft dismissal. The pair fought hard, adding 95 runs for the sixth wicket. Keshav Maharaj broke the stand when the Sri Lankan captain chipped one straight to mid-wicket. De Silva’s patient knock ended on 58 runs off 81 balls, featuring 9 fours and a six.
Chandimal was then joined by Kusal Mendis, and the duo dragged the match into the post-lunch session with a 75-run stand for the seventh wicket. Chandimal looked set for a century but fell for 83, offering a return catch off a leading edge to the bowler, Gerald Coetzee. He battled hard, facing 174 deliveries and striking 12 boundaries.
It took South Africa just 6.2 overs to finish the innings, sealing a massive win as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 282. Kusal Mendis resisted briefly but fell two runs short of a half-century. Marco Jansen, who ripped through the visitors in the first innings with a seven-wicket haul, claimed another four scalps to finish with match figures of 11 for 86. Unsurprisingly, he was named Player of the Match for his brilliant bowling.
The Proteas climbed to second in the World Test Championship, while the visitors slipped from third to fifth.
The series now moves to St George’s Park in Gqeberha for the second Test, scheduled from 5th to 9th of December.
Watch LIVE action of the Sri Lanka tour of South Africa 2024 on ThePapare TV (Dialog TV Ch. 63), ThePapare TV HD (Dialog TV Ch. 126), Dialog ViU app, and ThePapare.com.
