South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by 109 runs in their second Test match, bringing them one step closer to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
With this victory, South Africa moved to the top of the WTC standings, surpassing Australia. The Proteas won the series 2-0 after taking the last five Sri Lanka wickets in 14.1 overs on day five.
If South Africa manages to win both matches in their upcoming two-match series against Pakistan, they will secure their place in the final. On the fifth day, Sri Lanka started at 205-5, needing 143 more runs to win. Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis had built a partnership of 83 on day four.
However, Keshav Maharaj broke the partnership in the fourth over of the day, dismissing Mendis with a slip catch. Kagiso Rabada followed up by having Dhananjaya caught behind, leaving Sri Lanka in a tough position.
Sri Lanka collapsed quickly, losing their last five wickets for just 19 runs and were all out for 238. South Africa’s centuries from Kyle Verreyne and Ryan Rickelton, along with contributions from Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram, helped the hosts set a challenging target of 348 runs
South Africa 358 (Verreyne 105*, Rickelton 101) & 317 (Bavuma 66; Jayasuriya 5-129)
Sri Lanka 328 (Nissanka 89; Paterson 5-71) & 238 (Dhananjaya 50; Maharaj 5-76)
South Africa won by 109 runs; won the series 2-0.