- By Namrata Vijay
- Sat, 30 Nov 2024 07:44 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
SA vs SL, 1st Test: South Africa thrashed Sri Lanka by 233 runs in Durban on the back of Marco Jansen's career-best performance. Jansen took a brilliant 11-for and became the star performer, by creating new records at Kingsmead and dismantling Sri Lanka's batting lineup.
The match started when the hosts were skittled out for 191 runs during the first innings and it thus raised questions about their batting lineup. But these concerns soon disappeared as Jansen produced a brilliant spell, which rattled Sri Lanka's batting lineup. He registered figures of 7/13 and helped the team reduce Sri Lanka to just 42 runs and they thus recorded their lowest Test score in the history of their cricket. Jansen's fiery bowling performance, helped the hosts bounce back as Sri Lanka was seen struggling to bat against him.
The Proteas took advantage of their home conditions during the second innings as captain Temba Bavuma and star middle-order batter Tristan Stubbs both scored hundreds each and had thus put South Africa in the driver's seat. Their brilliant partnership had set the foundation of their innings and they thus declared their innings at a mammoth target of 516 runs for Sri Lanka.
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While chasing a huge mammoth total, Sri Lanka's batting lineup suffered a collapse yet again during the fourth innings. Jansen once again was the pick among the bowlers as he registered figures of 4/73 and thus took 11 wickets in total throughout the match. He has become the first South African left-arm fast bowler to have taken a 10-for in Durban and thus became the star performer of the match.
Although Sri Lanka's lower batting order did try to fight back their batters were left clueless to Jansen's consistency. His pace, bounce, and ability to take wickets at regular intervals proved too good for Sri Lanka and thus helped South Africa win the match.
This win not only showed South Africa's brilliant bowling prowess but also their ability to make a comeback after a jittery start. After this win, the Proteas have cemented their place as a force to reckon with in the longest format whereas Jansen's record-breaking performance has helped him join an elite list in the history of Kingsmead.