South Africa topped the World Test Championship (WTC) standings following a commanding 109-run triumph over Sri Lanka at St George’s Park. The Proteas completed a 2-0 series clean sweep, dismissing Sri Lanka for 238 within 69 minutes on the final morning, with the second new ball still 10.5 overs from availability.
Keshav Maharaj claimed his tenth Test five-wicket haul—his fourth at St George’s Park—taking four of the final five wickets on the concluding morning. Sri Lanka suffered a dramatic lower-order collapse, losing five wickets for 19 runs in 62 deliveries. Resuming on 202 for 5, with two set batters on a relatively benign surface, wicket-keeping batsman Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva had established an 83-run sixth-wicket stand.
On the final morning, South African elite pacer Kagiso Rabada got some movement from the air. However, Maharaj broke the strong partnership between Mendis and de Silva with the ball that turned away sharply and got Mendis’s outside edge, and Aiden Markaram completed the job from behind.
With no specialist batters remaining, Sri Lanka’s lower order was living on borrowed time. Prabath Jayasuriya, tempted by a Maharaj long-hop, attempted a slog offside but only managed to find Temba Bavuma’s safe hands at extra cover. The visitors managed to survive until the drinks break, but shortly afterward, Vishwa Fernando mistimed a cross-line slog, sending a simple catch to Marco Jansen at mid-on. Jansen then took the ball in the next over, needing just one short delivery to dismiss Lahiru Kumara, who top-edged a wild swing. Ryan Rickelton, positioned at short mid-wicket, skillfully judged the swirling catch to seal South Africa’s series-clinching victory.
South Africa stands just one victory away from securing a spot in next year’s World Test Championship final. A win against Pakistan at home, in either the Boxing Day or New Year’s Test, will confirm their place in the mega-event, marking the end of their campaign in this cycle. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka remains in the hunt but faces a challenging path—they must dominate the mighty Australia in a home series early next year.
South Africa 358 and 317 (Bavuma 66, Markram 55, Jayasuriya 5-129) beat Sri Lanka 328 and 238 (Dhananjaya de Silva 50, Maharaj 5-76) by 109 runs.
Read more: How Does the WTC Table Look Like After the Adelaide Test, India’s Chances of Qualification
Jasir Basharat is a cricket enthusiast capturing the heart of the game through insightful analysis and storytelling sharing his passion for the sport through engaging narratives. He is a business graduate from University of Kashmir.
