 "Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka leaves the field after getting dismissed by Kagiso Rabada on Day 2 of the first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Durban.AP")
Sri Lanka’s hopes of finishing among the top two in the ICC World Test Championship table and thereby qualifying for the final at Lord’s next year took a major hit on Thursday after they were bowled out for their lowest Test total ever. The visitors appeared to have put up a valiant fight by bowling South Africa out for 191 after opting to bowl on Day 2 of the first Test in Durban, only to get bowled out for 42 in reply.
Left-arm quick Marco Jansen led the way with staggering figures of 7/13, proving virtually unplayable for the visitors, while pace colleagues Gerald Coetzee (2/18) and Kagiso Rabada (1/10) shared the remaining wickets among themselves.
As for Sri Lanka’s sorry batting performance, not only was it their worst in Tests, going past the 71 they had managed against Pakistan in Kandy in 1994, it was also their lowest across formats. Kamindu Mendis was the top-scorer with a knock of 13, which included three fours, while tail-ender Lahiru Kumara (10 not out off five balls) was the only other batter to register a score in double digits.
The Lankans’ worst batting performance before Thursday’s dramatic collapse at the Kingsmead was also against South Africa in South Africa – in an ODI in Paarl in 2012.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIn reply, South Africa had reached 28 for no loss after six overs at the end of the second session on Day 2, with Tony de Zorzi and Aiden Markram batting on 14 and 9 respectively.
Both teams are still in the fray to qualify for the WTC final, with Sri Lanka and South Africa currently occupying the third and fifth spots respectively on the table that is currently led by India, both teams having four Tests in hand to try and push for a top-two finish.
However, with Sri Lanka’s hopes of traveling to Gqeberha for the second Test with a 1-0 lead looking increasingly bleak, their path to Lord’s just got a lot tougher. Dhananjaya de Silva’s men will then hope to level the series at St George’s Park before turning their attention to the two-Test series against Australia at home.