South Africa vs Sri Lanka: A Comprehensive Review of the 2024–25 Test Series
The 2024–25 Test series between South Africa and Sri Lanka showed great cricket skills in the Pearl of Africa. South Africa was strong in both games and won the series 2–0. The teams played the matches in Durban and Gqeberha. These games, along with events from the West Indies, played a big part in the World Test Championship standings.
First Test: Durban – A Commanding Victory for South Africa
The series started at Kingsmead in Durban. South Africa showed strong play against the Sri Lanka batters. They decided to bat first. South Africa scored 191 runs in the first innings. The total may not have been big, but the South Africa bowlers, with the umpire watching, changed the game in a big way.
Sri Lanka had a really tough time in their first innings. They got out for just 42 runs. This was their lowest score ever in Test cricket. It was also the second shortest completed innings in history. Marco Jansen played a big role in this. He took seven wickets and gave only 13 runs in 6.5 overs. These were the second-best numbers for a left-arm fast bowler in Test history.
South Africa ended their second innings after scoring 366 runs for 5 wickets. They set up a big target for the other team. Temba Bavuma was the top scorer with 78 runs. He played a strong innings. Rickelton also helped a lot with his 101 runs. These two made sure south africa was in a good position.
Sri Lanka tried hard in their second innings and scored 282 runs. Dinesh Chandimal played well and made a brave 83 runs. But South Africa still won the game by 233 runs. Jansen bowled really well. He took four more wickets and had a total of 11 wickets in the match.
Second Test: Gqeberha – South Africa Seals the Series
South Africa kept up their good form in the second Test at St George’s Park. When they went in to bat first, the team made a strong total of 358 runs. Kyle Verreynne scored 105 and Ryan Rickelton added 101, both getting centuries during the batting.
Sri Lanka scored 328 runs. Pathum Nissanka got 89 runs for the team. The south africa bowlers, like Rabada and Jansen, kept the pressure on them the whole time.
South Africa scored 317 runs in their second innings. This gave Sri Lanka a hard target to reach. Sri Lanka only got 238 runs in their last innings. So, South Africa won the match by 109 runs. They also won the series 2–0.
Here’s a comprehensive Test match scorecard in tabular format for the South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2024–25 Test series, covering both matches:
1st Test – Kingsmead, Durban
Innings | Team | Score | Top Scorer | Best Bowler (Opposition)
South Africa scored 191 runs in their first innings. Markram was the top scorer with 66 runs. Asitha Fernando did well and took 4 wickets for 56 runs. The rest of the team was all out after him. This innings was shaped by strong bowling from Fernando and the effort by Markram for South Africa.
Sri Lanka batted first in the innings and was all out for only 42 runs. Asalanka was their top scorer and made 12 runs. Marco Jansen did really well and got 7 wickets for just 13 runs. It was a tough time for Sri Lanka, but Jansen made the most of it.
South Africa was playing their second innings. The team ended the day with 366 runs for 5 wickets. They decided to stop their batting. Rickelton did very well and was not out on 101 runs. Rajitha was the bowler who took 2 wickets for 89 runs.
Sri Lanka played their 2nd innings and scored 282 runs. All their batsmen got out. Dinesh Chandimal made 83 runs in this innings. Jansen took 4 wickets and gave only 54 runs. Chandimal was the top scorer for Sri Lanka in this innings.
Result: South Africa won by 233 runs
Player of the Match: Marco Jansen took 11 wickets in the match. Jansen was the best player on the field. He was the one who made the most impact with his wickets. Marco Jansen showed his good skills and helped his team win. The player of the match was Marco, and it was clear that he did the most to help his side.
2nd Test – St George’s Park, Gqeberha
South Africa scored 358 runs in their first innings. Kyle Verreynne played really well and made 105 runs not out. Vishwa Fernando bowled nicely for his team. He got three wickets and gave away 72 runs in the innings. South Africa looked good, but Fernando and the other bowlers kept the fight up.
Sri Lanka played their first innings and scored 328 runs before all their players got out. Pathum Nissanka did well and made 89 runs. Kagiso Rabada was great with the ball and took 4 wickets for 65 runs in this innings.
South Africa made 317 runs in their second innings. T Bavuma scored 94 runs. Asitha Fernando took 4 wickets for 84 runs.
Sri Lanka had their second innings. They scored 238 runs before all their players were out. Angelo Mathews was the top scorer with 56 runs. Jansen did well, taking three wickets for 41 runs.
Result: South Africa won by 109 runs
Player of the Match: Kyle Verreynne (105*, 36)
Series Summary
Test | Venue | Winner | Margin | Player of the Match
This table shows the details for each test. You can see the test, the venue, which team won, the margin, and who was the player of the match. It helps you get the main points from every game, like where the match happened and who stood out as player of the match.
The first Test match in Durban saw South Africa win by 233 runs. Marco Jansen played well in this game and helped his team. South Africa looked good out there on the field. Jansen was one of the top players for them. A lot of people talked about how Marco made a huge impact during the match in Durban.
The second Test took place in Gqeberha, South Africa. Kyle Verreynne scored 109 runs in this match.
South Africa won the 2-match series. They took both games and finished the series with a 2-0 win.
Top Performers:
- Most Runs (SA): Rickelton scored the most runs for South Africa with 189.
- Most Runs (SL): Dinesh Chandimal scored the most runs for Sri Lanka with 124. Chandimal did well for his team and was their top scorer.
- Most Wickets: Marco Jansen took the most wickets, getting 18. Jansen was a key bowler. Many people liked how marco bowled to get wickets.
South Africa Test Squad
- Temba Bavuma (Captain)
- David Bedingham
- Matthew Breetzke
- Gerald Coetzee
- Tony de Zorzi
- Marco Jansen
- Keshav Maharaj
- Kwena Maphaka
- Aiden Markram
- Wiaan Mulder
- Senuran Muthusamy
- Dane Paterson
- Kagiso Rabada
- Ryan Rickelton (Wicketkeeper)
- Tristan Stubbs (Wicketkeeper)
- Kyle Verreynne (Wicketkeeper)
Note: Wiaan Mulder will not play in the second Test because he broke his finger. Matthew Breetzke will take his place. Gerald Coetzee is also out of the second Test due to a groin injury. Kwena Maphaka has been added to the squad to replace Coetzee.
Sri Lanka Test Squad
- Dhananjaya de Silva (Captain)
- Pathum Nissanka
- Dimuth Karunaratne
- Dinesh Chandimal (Wicketkeeper)
- Angelo Mathews
- Kusal Mendis (Wicketkeeper)
- Kamindu Mendis
- Oshada Fernando
- Sadeera Samarawickrama (Wicketkeeper)
- Prabath Jayasuriya
- Nishan Peiris
- Lasith Embuldeniya
- Milan Rathnayake
- Asitha Fernando
- Vishwa Fernando
- Lahiru Kumara
Note: Sri Lanka have brought back seamer Kasun Rajitha and left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya for this series.
These teams had a mix of experienced players and new talents. This showed what both teams wanted to do in the world test championship.
Series Impact and Standings
This win in the series put South Africa at the top of the World Test Championship standings. It also made their chance to reach the final even better.
Conclusion
South Africa did very well in both Tests. They have shown that they are strong in the longer format of the game. The team has some players with a lot of experience and some who are new. Because of this, South Africa has set a high bar for other teams to try and reach in future series.