South Africa National Cricket Team were involved in a cliffhanger Test match against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. The second game of the two-match series between the teams took place at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.
South Africa National Cricket Team continued their dominance over the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team and completed a dominating win in the second match of the series. They won the game by 109 runs and bagged important World Test Championship points under their belt.
South Africa posts 358 runs in the first innings, ending Sri Lanka’s innings on 328
The hosts opted to bat and that had a staggering outing. Even though they lost both the openers early, Ryan Rickelton, who was added to the team, slammed a magnificent century at No.3 and ended with the innings of 101 runs to keep his team in the game.
He was well supported by skipper Temba Bavuma (78) and keeper-batter Kyle Verreynne, who also hit a century. Based on the collective effort with the bat, the South Africa National Cricket Team ended with a total of 358 runs. For Sri Lanka, Lahiru Kumara was the pick of the bowlers as he bagged four scalps.
Sri Lanka, in their first innings, gave a tough fight to the opposition. Opener Pathum Nissanka (89) was the top run-getter for the team, while the efforts from Dinesh Chandimal (44), Angelo Matthews (44), and Kamindu Mendis (48), took them to 328 runs, allowing hosts to have a lead of just 30 runs.
South Africa win the second Test against Sri Lanka by 109 runs
The Proteas Team in the second innings were impressive yet again and set a massive target of around 350 for Sri Lanka. Aiden Markram (55) and skipper Temba Bavuma (66) hit valiant half-centuries while efforts from Tristan Stubbs (47) and David Bedingham (36) took them to 317 runs.
Sri Lanka National Cricket Team kept themselves in the hunt in the chase, but the hosts kept chipping in at regular intervals. Dinesh Chandimal (29) and Angelo Matthews (32) were impressive with the bat but couldn’t convert their starts.
Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (50) slammed a vital half-century, and Kamindu Mendis (46) also was decent, but it wasn’t enough. Sri Lanka National Cricket Team got bundled out for 238 runs as South Africa won the match by the margin of 109 runs. Keshav Maharaj was the star with the ball in the second innings as he bagged a fifer.
South Africa climb to the top of the ICC World Test Championship Points Table
The win in the second Test against Sri Lanka took the South Africa one step closer to the final of the ICC World Test Championship. They are now sitting at the top of the table with a PCT of 63.3. Australia are second with 60.7 while India and Sri Lanka are 3rd and 4th respectively with PCT of 57.2 and 45.4.
Here is the full ICC World Test Championship Points Table:
|
Pos |
Team |
Matches |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
NR |
Points |
PCT |
|
1 |
South Africa |
10 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
76 |
63.330 |
|
2 |
Australia |
14 |
9 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
102 |
60.710 |
|
3 |
India |
16 |
9 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
110 |
57.290 |
|
4 |
Sri Lanka |
11 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
60 |
45.450 |
|
5 |
England |
21 |
11 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
114 |
45.240 |
|
6 |
New Zealand |
13 |
6 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
69 |
44.230 |
|
7 |
Pakistan |
10 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
40 |
33.330 |
|
8 |
Bangladesh |
12 |
4 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
45 |
31.250 |
|
9 |
West Indies |
11 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
32 |
24.240 |
Also read: AB de Villiers delivers defining verdict on Mohammed Siraj-Travis Head row