Cricket is more than just a sport – it’s a passion, way of life and cause that brings people together! Whether it’s your first time watching a match or you are an experienced spectator analyzing every delivery, cricket brings people together!
De Silva edged Rabada overnight to become the first Sri Lanka batsman ever to make two Test hundreds in Durban, a memorable moment highlighted in the sri lanka national cricket team vs south africa national cricket team match scorecard.
| # | Format | Date | Venue | Result | Player of the Match (if available) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Test | 27–30 Nov 2024 | Durban (Kingsmead) | South Africa won by 233 runs | Marco Jansen (7/13 & 4/73) (cricketteammatchscorecard.com, Wikipedia) |
| 2 | Test | 5–9 Dec 2024 | Gqeberha (St George’s) | South Africa won by 109 runs | Dane Paterson (5/71 & 2/33) (cricketteammatchscorecard.com, Wikipedia) |
| 3 | Test | 3–5 Jan 2021 | Johannesburg | South Africa won by 10 wickets | Dean Elgar (127 & 31*) (cricketteammatchscorecard.com) |
| 4 | Test | 26–29 Dec 2020 | Centurion? (as part of 2020–21 tour) | South Africa won by an innings and 45 runs | — (CricTotal, Wikipedia) |
| 5 | Test | 21 Feb – ? 2019 | South Africa (2019) | Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets | — (myKhel) |
First innings
On Thursday at Gqeberha, Sri Lanka national cricket team were defeated by South Africa national cricket team by an innings and 146 runs in the first innings of their second Test, due to centuries by Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram – as well as taking advantage of a pitch that provided plenty of spin for both seamers and spinners alike.
Sri Lanka suffered an incredible first innings batting collapse, being all out for only 42 runs in just 83 balls – an unexpected and shocking outcome given their recent form at home and in ODIs this year. This showed just how vastly different both teams are from one another.
Sri Lanka had a good chance of saving the match until the final session; however, host bowler Marco Jansen took four wickets at 73 runs; alongside Gerald Coetzee and Kagiso Rabada who each claimed five scalps in support.
The Proteas’ victory against Sri Lanka at Gqeberha brought them closer to reaching Lord’s for the World Test Championship final, while Pakistan could now seal their fate with victory against them on Boxing Day. For them to make the cut they must improve their batting performance – especially under these difficult conditions – and find one or two batsmen capable of producing big scores if they wish to qualify – anything less would be an immense disappointment given their impressive showing this season in ODIs.
Second innings
South Africa made up for their dismal first innings score by producing an incredible second innings performance, featuring centuries from Temba Bavuma (113) and Tristan Stubbs (366 runs), setting Sri Lanka an enormous target of 516.
Sri Lanka managed to recover after their second innings collapse and come within striking distance, thanks to Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva making half-centuries to keep them competitive despite an unprecedented turnaround by their opponents, but ultimately fell short by an overwhelming margin.
Kusal Perera made an outstanding comeback in the final session by scoring an unbeaten 78 unbeaten. His innings was among his finest ever; when his century seemed imminent he stood firm and fought until the very end to achieve victory, reminding all present that nothing is impossible! His astounding innings proved everyone wrong!
Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers began the Proteas innings with a blistering partnership of 104 runs before being kept to relatively modest contributions as their bowlers limited Sri Lanka to only modest scores.
After the first day, Sri Lankan batsmen seemed poised for an implosion; however, Asitha Fernando and Lasith Embuldeniya offered some resistance, striking early to spark a middle order revival.
Sri Lankan bowlers put themselves in an unenviable position after suffering several run-outs and wickets; but Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis’ persevering performance kept their team competitive throughout. Aiden Markram’s brilliant second innings century ultimately sealed victory for their hosts.
Third innings
South Africa’s bowlers once again shone brightly during a match that held so much at stake, taking 11 wickets between Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen to wreck Sri Lankan batting. Vernon Philander almost managed a hat-trick as well, yet has been forced out due to a hamstring injury – this will come as a blow to their opponents.
On a dry deck, batsmen struggled to keep up with the pace set by South African bowlers and ended up conceding 271 runs by play’s end. Although their first-innings total of 42 was considerably bettered by comparison, 271 total runs had already been scored against them by play.
Sri Lanka had one bright spot: they did not lose their final three wickets. Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando performed admirably with the ball while Kusal Perera provided solid support with some fine batting from Kusal Perera – but needed more and became dissatisfied when key batsmen were dismissed cheaply.
Dimuth Karunaratne seemed optimistic despite their defeat against Australia; he stated that they would learn from this defeat and seek to improve in their second Test match. Additionally, he was delighted to see players fight back after they were humiliated at home during their home series against them.
At one point it seemed Sri Lanka had no hope of saving this game; but Dhananjaya de Silva finally hit one from Rabada to Kyle Verreynne to send himself back into the pavilion, setting the scene for a thrilling finish that will go down as one of cricket’s classic moments.
Fourth innings
Sri Lanka held on to win their inaugural test against South Africa despite an astounding collapse on the final day at Durban. Captain Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis played an energising partnership that prevented an innings loss for their visitors – pushing up their score to 271 before hitting their last over with hosts still 194 runs behind.
The Proteas resumed their chase with Lahiru Kumara at the crease. He scored consecutive boundaries against Kagiso Rabada before hitting Steyn for another six. Unfortunately, however, Lahiru Kumara was ultimately dismissed for 89 and Kagiso Rabada managed to induce a top edge from Lahiru before having him caught by Heinrich Klaasen at second slip for just 291-8 total runs scored by them all.
Dhananjaya de Silva and Mendis continued their fightback, forcing South Africa backwards with batted boundaries off Rabada’s bowling to bring Sri Lanka within 142 of victory. Mendis scored three fours and six off his bowling before smashing him through third man for another boundary to put Sri Lanka within touching distance of victory.
TEMBA BAVUMA, South African captain and the winning South African captain is full of praise for his team. He credits their strength of character as evidenced in their victory and said that they knew this pitch could provide them with an opportunity for success.
This was an intense contest between two of the world’s finest teams, both having plenty of room to improve ahead of their next encounter in this series. Sri Lanka will seek to enhance their batting by being more aggressive with their bat in Test 2, as well as maintaining their composure in the field.
Fifth innings
The final day was an exhilarating one as both teams put on an entertaining show for the crowd at the Wanderers. South Africa displayed their batting firepower while Sri Lanka battled hard throughout. It proved both teams possess outfits capable of competing at next year’s World Cup tournament.
Sri Lanka performed well despite losing three early wickets in their second innings despite losing three early wickets, especially Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis, with their partnership taking their side to 122/5 before being dismissed on day four by South African bowlers such as Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada and Gerald Coetzee – while Dane Paterson also chipped in with wickets taken.
At the end of the day, Temba Bavuma took charge to turn the tide against Sri Lanka. The captain was in excellent form and hit three centuries in four innings before speeding up towards the end. When nearly run out when trying to lap-sweep Prabath Jayasuriya during an attempt at lap-sweeping him a near miss was nearly given but was overturned through review, and finished his innings with an impressive 189 not out score.
The Proteas have scored another victory to bring them closer to qualifying for the World Cup final. Should they win both remaining matches and overtake Australia in standings, they’d surpass Australia and reach Lord’s in June! We look forward to witnessing more from them soon – thank you all for reading CricketArchive!
