(Reuters) – South Africa’s lanky speedster Marco Jansen took the last two wickets as the hosts won the first test against Sri Lanka by 233 runs yesterday but had to toil hard to break down stubborn resistance to prevail before tea on the fourth day at Kingsmead.
Jansen finished with match figures of 11-86 — the second best in test history in Durban — as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 282 to hand South Africa a fourth straight test win and keep up hopes of a place in the 2025 World Test Championship final.
However, Sri Lanka went some way to restoring their own confidence ahead of next week’s second test after being rolled over for 42 in the first innings, their lowest ever test score.
Dinesh Chandimal scored an impressive 83 and Dhananjaya da Silva a brisk 59 off 81 balls in a much better batting display on Saturday, even if the match-winning target of 516 looked near impossible.
Resuming from their overnight score of 103-5, the tourists put on 93 runs in the opening 90 minutes before Captain Da Silva chipped a slower delivery from spinner Keshav Maharaj to Tristan Stubbs at mid-wicket.
South Africa would have been hoping to run through the last five wickets when play started but it proved much harder than anticipated on a hot day with significant humidity.
There was another 75 runs added for the seventh wicket before Chandimal fended a delivery from Gerald Coetzee that popped straight back to the bowler.
Vishwa Fernando lasted only five balls before a healthy edge off Maharaj saw him depart and then the dangerous Kusal Mendes was caught behind off Jansen for 48.
Jansen, appropriately, secured the win in a test in which he was the star performer by bowling Asitha Fernando.
“I never thought I would get 10 wickets. It is a dream and that is what we work for. The second innings we felt the wicket was low and slow and a bit flatter,” said Jansen.
Victory for South Africa followed test success over West Indies in Guyana in August and Bangladesh in a two-test series in October.
South Africa will have a strong chance of competing in the WTC final at Lord’s in June if they win the second test against Sri Lanka and then two tests versus Pakistan at home at the end of the year and in early January.
The second test against Sri Lanka starts in Gqeberha on Thursday.
