Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis steered Sri Lanka to 205/5, setting up an intriguing final day as they still require 143 runs to win after Prabath Jayasuriya’s 10th five-wicket haul bowled South Africa out for 317 on day four of the second and final Test in Gqeberha.
Chasing a record target of 348 to level the series, Sri Lanka’s opening partnership lasted just 2.2 overs, with Dimuth Karunaratne trapped LBW by Kagiso Rabada. Karunaratne endured a disappointing series, scoring only 27 runs and falling to Rabada on all four occasions.
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Pathum Nissanka and Dinesh Chandimal both looked promising, but Dane Paterson removed them in quick succession, reducing the visitors to 64/3. Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis then tried to stabilize the innings, building a crucial half-century partnership.
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The former, however, lost his patience and was bowled by Keshav Maharaj while attempting an expansive shot. Kamindu had endured a blow to his helmet off Marco Jansen after hitting him for a few boundaries before Maharaj struck again. Bowling round the wicket, Maharaj pitched just outside off, and the sharp turn took the thick edge, which was brilliantly caught one-handed by Kyle Verreynne diving to his right.
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At 122/5, South Africa appeared poised to wrap up Sri Lanka’s reply within the fourth day. However, skipper Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis held firm, putting together an unbeaten 83-run stand. The pitch had no demons, and the two right-handers showed it was still good for batting.
Earlier in the day, South Africa resumed their second innings at 191/3. With just 22 runs added to the overnight score, Tristan Stubbs and Temba Bavuma found themselves involved in a disastrous mix-up while attempting a second run, resulting in Stubbs departing three runs short of his fifty.
Prabath Jayasuriya toiled hard on a pitch offering little assistance. His perseverance paid off as he bowled Bavuma around his legs for 66, the batter missing a sweep against the left-arm spinner coming over the wicket.
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Once the overnight batters were dismissed, the hosts collapsed, losing wickets at regular intervals. Jayasuriya claimed the scalps of David Bedingham and Marco Jansen in consecutive overs, completing his 10th five-wicket haul in Tests, and his first outside home. This achievement also placed him as the fourth-highest wicket-taker after 18 Test matches.
In between, Verreynne edged a delivery from Vishwa Fernando to the keeper. Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando then cleaned up the tail as South Africa were bowled out for 317, losing their last seven wickets for just 126 runs on the day.
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Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiden Markram | b Lahiru Kumara | 20 | 35 | 4 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Tony de Zorzi | lbw b Vishwa Fernando | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ryan Rickelton | c Pathum Nissanka b Lahiru Kumara | 101 | 250 | 11 | 0 | 40.40 |
| Tristan Stubbs | c Kamindu Mendis b Lahiru Kumara | 4 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 22.22 |
| Temba Bavuma | c Kamindu Mendis b Asitha Fernando | 78 | 109 | 8 | 1 | 71.56 |
| David Bedingham | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 6 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 31.58 |
| Kyle Verreynne | not out | 105 | 133 | 12 | 3 | 78.95 |
| Marco Jansen | b Vishwa Fernando | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Keshav Maharaj | c Dimuth Karunaratne b Vishwa Fernando | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kagiso Rabada | b Asitha Fernando | 23 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 57.50 |
| Dane Paterson | c Kusal Mendis b Lahiru Kumara | 9 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 90.00 |
| Extras | 8 (b 1 , lb 1 , nb 2, w 4, pen 0) |
| Total | 358/10 (102.4 Overs, RR: 3.49) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vishwa Fernando | 22 | 6 | 65 | 2 | 2.95 | |
| Asitha Fernando | 23 | 2 | 102 | 3 | 4.43 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 17.4 | 3 | 79 | 4 | 4.54 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 31 | 4 | 84 | 1 | 2.71 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 9 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 2.89 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | b Keshav Maharaj | 89 | 157 | 11 | 1 | 56.69 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Kyle Verreynne b Kagiso Rabada | 20 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 46.51 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Kyle Verreynne b Dane Paterson | 44 | 97 | 5 | 0 | 45.36 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Kyle Verreynne b Marco Jansen | 44 | 90 | 6 | 0 | 48.89 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Aiden Markram b Marco Jansen | 48 | 92 | 4 | 0 | 52.17 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Aiden Markram b Dane Paterson | 14 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 51.85 |
| Kusal Mendis | b Dane Paterson | 16 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | st Kyle Verreynne b Keshav Maharaj | 24 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Lahiru Kumara | c Marco Jansen b Dane Paterson | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Vishwa Fernando | c Kyle Verreynne b Dane Paterson | 2 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 6.45 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 27 (b 13 , lb 8 , nb 5, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 328/10 (99.2 Overs, RR: 3.3) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kagiso Rabada | 24 | 7 | 56 | 1 | 2.33 | |
| Marco Jansen | 25 | 4 | 100 | 2 | 4.00 | |
| Dane Paterson | 22 | 4 | 71 | 5 | 3.23 | |
| Keshav Maharaj | 24.2 | 5 | 65 | 1 | 2.69 | |
| Aiden Markram | 4 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 3.75 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony de Zorzi | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 19 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Aiden Markram | c Kusal Mendis b Vishwa Fernando | 55 | 75 | 5 | 0 | 73.33 |
| Ryan Rickelton | lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya | 24 | 45 | 3 | 0 | 53.33 |
| Tristan Stubbs | run out (Dimuth Karunaratne) | 47 | 112 | 2 | 0 | 41.96 |
| Temba Bavuma | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 66 | 116 | 3 | 2 | 56.90 |
| David Bedingham | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Prabath Jayasuriya | 35 | 55 | 3 | 0 | 63.64 |
| Kyle Verreynne | c Kusal Mendis b Vishwa Fernando | 9 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Marco Jansen | c Asitha Fernando b Prabath Jayasuriya | 8 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 72.73 |
| Keshav Maharaj | not out | 14 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 63.64 |
| Kagiso Rabada | c Kusal Mendis b Lahiru Kumara | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Dane Paterson | b Asitha Fernando | 14 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 175.00 |
| Extras | 18 (b 1 , lb 7 , nb 1, w 9, pen 0) |
| Total | 317/10 (86 Overs, RR: 3.69) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vishwa Fernando | 19 | 4 | 47 | 2 | 2.47 | |
| Asitha Fernando | 14 | 2 | 52 | 1 | 3.71 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 16 | 0 | 71 | 1 | 4.44 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 34 | 2 | 129 | 5 | 3.79 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3.33 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | c Kyle Verreynne b Dane Paterson | 18 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 40.91 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | lbw b Kagiso Rabada | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | lbw b Dane Paterson | 29 | 57 | 5 | 0 | 50.88 |
| Angelo Mathews | b Keshav Maharaj | 32 | 59 | 4 | 1 | 54.24 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Kyle Verreynne b Keshav Maharaj | 35 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 100.00 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Kyle Verreynne b Kagiso Rabada | 50 | 92 | 7 | 0 | 54.35 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Aiden Markram b Keshav Maharaj | 46 | 76 | 3 | 2 | 60.53 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | c Temba Bavuma b Keshav Maharaj | 9 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 47.37 |
| Vishwa Fernando | c Marco Jansen b Keshav Maharaj | 5 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 20.83 |
| Lahiru Kumara | c Ryan Rickelton b Marco Jansen | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 9.09 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 12 (b 5 , lb 1 , nb 6, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 238/10 (69.1 Overs, RR: 3.44) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kagiso Rabada | 21 | 3 | 63 | 2 | 3.00 | |
| Marco Jansen | 10.1 | 1 | 54 | 1 | 5.35 | |
| Keshav Maharaj | 25 | 3 | 76 | 5 | 3.04 | |
| Dane Paterson | 12 | 3 | 33 | 2 | 2.75 | |
| Aiden Markram | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | |
