South African players celebrate the dismissal of a Sri Lankan batter.© AFP
Sri Lanka fell to a historic low in its Test history on Day 2 of the series opener against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday. Marco Jansen’s bilstering pace left Sri Lanka’s in-form swashbuckling batters to bite dust, which ensured South Africa remained unscathed. Jansen left Sri Lanka in turmoil on their way to claiming his best figures in Test innings, 7/13. While facing his scorching pace, Sri Lanka could only survive for just 13.5 overs and were packed on a meagre score of 42. Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, and Asitha Fernando featured among his lists of victims.
After facing humiliation at the hands of South Africa, Sri Lanka fell to its lowest total in Test format, bettering their previous lowest of 71 against Pakistan in 1994. Notably, this was also the lowest total against South Africa in Test cricket, eclipsing the previous lowest by New Zealand of 45 in 2013.
The entire Sri Lankan team was in the dressing room, preparing for the second innings after being bowled out in just 83 balls (13.5 overs). This is the second-fewest balls a team got bowled out on. South Africa still tops the chart after being bowled out for 30 runs in 75 balls (12.3 overs) against England at Edgbaston in 1924.
Jansen has found his groove since the recent T20I series against India. Even though the visitors humbled the Proteas with a 3-1 series defeat, Jansen emerged as one of the positives for the hosts.
He looked like a man on a mission, stuck to one end, remained relentless in his approach, and left Sri Lanka bamboozled. Even though Sri Lanka batters got lured into playing false shots, it was a typical display of pace attack with the new ball by South Africa.
With Sri Lanka getting wrapped at 42, South Africa managed to get their hands on a healthy 149-run lead, strengthening their position in the opening
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