SA vs SL 2024/25, SA vs SL 1st Test Match Report, November 27 – December 01, 2024

South Africa 191 (Bavuma 70, Maharaj 24, Asitha 3-44, Kumara 3-70) lead Sri Lanka 42 (Jansen 7-13, Coetzee 2-18) by 149 runs

Sri Lanka’s misfortunes were a combined result of incisive bowling with movement still on offer deep into the second day, and poor shot selection. Of the top seven, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva all played at deliveries they could have left.

Kagiso Rabada started the slide when Dimuth Karunatratne hung his bat out to a length ball outside off and edged to David Bedingham, at first slip. Four balls later, Jansen drew Nissanka forward and he reached for a ball he could have left. He was caught at third slip. And two overs after that, Dinesh Chandimal displayed questionable defence when he left a bat-pad gap that a Jansen delivery nipped through to bowl him. Mathews’ experience also let him down when he wafted at a ball that angled away and edged to Bedingham. Sri Lanka were 16 for 4 in the eighth over.

South Africa’s first, and as it turned out, only bowling change was to bring on Gerald Coetzee in place of Rabada. He started with a full toss that Kamindu drove for four. Coetzee soon had reward when Kamindu played a big shot, attempting to whack him through the covers, but edged to first slip.

Jansen’s two wickets in his sixth over brought him his second Test five-for. The first was de Silva missing a drive and bowled and the second Prabath Jayasuriya, who was kept on the back foot and prodded to Stubbs in the slips. Coetzee took the eighth of the next ball, an lbw that was confirmed on review before Jansen did another double in his last over to end the innings 78 minutes after it began. Sri Lanka were bowled out inside 14 overs and made South Africa’s first innings 191 look much bigger than it felt at lunch.