At St George’s Park in Gqeberha, South Africa completed a 2-0 series sweep with a 109-run victory against Sri Lanka in the second and final Test, increasing their hopes of making it to their first World Test Championship final.
On the fifth morning of the second Test, overnight batsmen Kamindu Mendis (46), and Dhananjaya de Silva (50) were at the crease as Sri Lanka needed to get 143 runs with five wickets remaining after chasing 348.
The Proteas removed both set hitters in the opening half hour of play, however, as Mendis edged spinner Keshav Maharaj (5-76) to Aiden Markram at slip to halt their 97-run partnership before Kagiso Rabada (2-63) caught the outside edge of De Silva’s bat.
Prabath Jayasuriya (9), Vishwa Fernando (5), and Lahiru Kumara (1) were all out in single figures as the visitors were bowled out for 238 after Marco Jansen (1–54) and Maharaj combined to dismiss Sri Lanka’s tailenders.
On the last morning, Maharaj claimed his 11th five-wicket haul in his career, taking three of the five wickets.
With two more home Test matches against Pakistan beginning on December 26, South Africa has surpassed Australia and India to take the lead in the World Test Championship standings. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s defeat effectively ends their chances of making it to the Lord’s final.
