South Africa vs Sri Lanka Live Cricket Score 1st Test, Day 4: Follow Scorecard & Match Action From Durban – News18

That ends a pretty one-sided contest from Durban. South Africa were always the favourites but given the confidence Sri Lanka have been blooming with in the past few months, we expected much better. The second Test is not far away, scheduled on Thursday, in Gqeberha and rest assured, there is going to be no letup in terms of a green deck. The Lankans have been decent with the ball, but need to find a way to bat better and longer. Both teams still have a decent chance to make it to the World Test Championship final and will be eager to strike the right chord in the second Test. The first ball will be bowled at 8.30 am GMT on Thursday, 5th December, 2024, in that game but our buildup will begin much earlier. Do join us early then. But before that, there is cricketing action to be followed from New Zealand, in the NZ-Eng Test, also from West Indies, in the WI-Ban Test and also the Zimbabwe-Pakistan T20Is. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

TEMBA BAVUMA, South Africa’s victorious skipper, is up for a chat now.

DHANANJAYA DE SILVA, Sri Lanka’s captain, admits that the game was lost in their first innings with the bat, putting water over their bowling efforts in the first innings. On the team’s mindset after that batting debacle, de Silva plays all around the question, citing that they need to get better. Says that the initial plan was to at least get to 140-150 in the first innings, but it did not happen. Praises Marco Jansen who just did not allow them to breathe.

MARCO JANSEN HAS BEEN NAMED THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH FOR HIS MATCH FIGURES OF 11/86.

… THE PRESENTATION …

Talking about the bowlers, the lanky man stands out tall. Marco Jansen. He blew away the Lankans in their first innings, takign 7 wickets in 41 balls, that means a icket in roughly every 6 balls! And in the second dig, he finished with 4 wickets, to grab 11 for the match. Kagiso Rabada was decent but bowled way too many no balls. Gerald Coetzee was a big problem, as he leaked way too many runs. From a Sri Lankan perspective, despite the heavy loss, one has to laud the fighting spirit of the three seamers – Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando ​​​and ​Lahiru Kumara. The two Fernandos were nipping the ball beautifully early on while Kumara hit the deck hard throughout. Bores well for Sri Lanka’s future. Please stay tuned for the presentation…

Let’s give the tourists an applause for showing at least some fight on Saturday. Many thought that it was a matter of a wicket and they would capitulate but Chandimal, skipper Dhananjaya and Kusal Mendis made the Proteas stretch. Eventually, they did fall off towards the end, slipping from 271/6 to 282 all out, but had this type of a scorecard come in the first innings, this match could have been in the balance. Nevertheless, the Lankans have got some batting practice ahead of the second Test.

The verdict was out early with Sri Lanka staring at a target of 516. They lost two quickly too, but then Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal fought hard. This was amidst a hostile spell by Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada, where Chandimal took a lot of blows as well. However, with the fading light and the seamers being allowed to bowl, the Lankans fell prey to that dangerous bowling as they slipped from 82/2 to 101/5. And come Day 4, it was just a matter of when.

After such a horror show in a matter of 70-odd minutes, the visitors found it very tough to lift themselves up. The pitch had seemingly gotten better and though they picked up 3 wickets seemingly quickly, they were given a practical examination on how to bat in difficult conditions by Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs. More so, Stubbs, because normally known as a T20 specialist, he had made the world known that he is eager to do well in Tests after the disappointment in Bangladesh.

Was the pitch unplayable? Difficult, yes. But not unplayable. Remember, South Africa were 117/7 in the first innings. But Temba Bavuma rallied his lower order around to get to 191, a much decent score. When Sri Lanka came to bat, either they were way too happy with their bowlers and thought that 191 was an underpar score, or had just not factored the change in pitches from Dambulla to Durban. Feet were nowhere near the ball, too many shots were played away from the body and there was simply no patience. Result? Before you could blink, South Africa were batting again.

Talk about 46 all out in Bengaluru. Or 42 all out in Durban. You fall so far behind in the game, that even if you fight hard in the next innings, water has already flown under the bridge. The 46 all out refers to India against New Zealand earlier this year, which also them post 462 in the second innings. But did not help. Similarly, here, if you look in isolation, 282 by Sri Lanka is a commendable effort with the bat in the 4th innings. But that 42 all out in their first innings pushed them so far back, that all chances of coming back seemed nect to impossible.

There is always a first. Before this game, South Africa had never defeated Sri Lanka in a Test match in Durban. It has happened now. They are pumped up and their dream of reaching the World Test Championship final is still alive.

79.4 – OUT! TIMBER! What a fitting finish to the game and who better to cap it off than Marco Jansen!

79.3 – Hits the deck hard, on a back of a length, outside off, Asitha Fernando looks to reach for it but misses.

79.2 – Short of a length, on middle and leg, Asitha Fernando backs a long way down leg and just about manages to push it out.

79.1 – Leg bye.

78.6 – Full on middle, Asitha Fernando gets his bat ahead and blocks.

Batsman_1 : Asitha Fernando 0(5)

Batsman_2 : Lahiru Kumara 5(14)

Bowler : Keshav Maharaj 2/67(24)

Over : 79

Run : 5

Wicket : 0

Score : 281/9

78.5 – A bit short and on off, Asitha Fernando gets low and swats it hard to long off.

78.4 – Full, on middle, blocked by Asitha Fernando.

78.3 – In the air, but falls short. A valiant effort from Temba Bavuma!

78.2 – No run.

78.1 – Four!

77.6 – Good length, over middle, Asitha Fernando manages to keep it out.

Batsman_1 : Asitha Fernando 0(2)

Batsman_2 : Lahiru Kumara 0(11)

Bowler : Marco Jansen 3/73(21)

Over : 78

Run : 0

Wicket : 1

Score : 276/9

77.5 – On a length, outside off, Asitha Fernando leaves it alone.

Asitha Fernando is the last man in, replacing Kusal Mendis.

77.4 – OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! There goes the wicket of Mendis and Marco Jansen is thrilled to bits! Gets his 10th wicket in this game.

77.3 – Short of a length, outside off, Kusal Mendis slices it to deep backward point.

77.2 – Angling into the pads, on a length, Kusal Mendis looks to turn it around but misses. The ball goes to fine leg off his pads but they do not take the run. Not sure how long they would hang on like this with the target still 240 runs away.

76.2 – Short and turning in, from around off, Lahiru Kumara waits back and dead bats it down the deck.

76.4 – At the stumps, on a fuller length, Lahiru Kumara blocks it with a slightly angled bat face. Steers it past slip to his left. They do not take the single though.

76.3 – Slows it up and keeps it fuller, on off, Lahiru Kumara gets ahead very late and blocks.

76.5 – Pitched up, on middle and off, Lahiru Kumara taps it past silly point but they decide not to take the run, again!

77.1 – No run.

76.6 – Full and on off, Lahiru Kumara pushes it out on the off side.

Batsman_1 : Lahiru Kumara 0(11)

Batsman_2 : Kusal Mendis 48(73)

Bowler : Keshav Maharaj 2/62(23)

Over : 77

Run : 0

Wicket : 0

Score : 276/8

76.1 – No run.

Having seen the Lankans capitulate against pace here, one won’t be surprised to see another fresh green track at Gqeberha. The only thing South Africa need to ponder is – do they pick a seamer and play a batter short? Or do they pick a batter and rely on these three quicks?

75.4 – On a length, on middle, Kusal Mendis turns it around to deep square leg but doesn’t take the run.

75.6 – FOUR! How good is that shot? He moves to 48 now! Back of a length, on off, Kusal Mendis waits back and hops a bit. Makes contact with the ball very late, closer to his body and dabs it out through the gap at slip for a boundary.

Batsman_1 : Kusal Mendis 48(73)

Batsman_2 : Lahiru Kumara 0(5)

Bowler : Gerald Coetzee 2/67(13)

Over : 76

Run : 4

Wicket : 0

Score : 276/8

75.5 – Short of a length, outside off, Kusal Mendis reaches for it and cuts it on the bounce to gully.

75.2 – No run.