In the first Test match between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Durban, South Africa secured a convincing victory by 233 runs. South Africa’s first innings was a struggle, with the team managing to score just 191 runs. Both openers, Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi, struggled to perform; Markram was dismissed for 9 runs, while de Zorzi scored only 4 runs. The top-order batter, Tristan Stubbs, was also out of form, contributing just 16 runs from 38 deliveries.
The middle-order batsmen failed to score. David Bedingham was out for a mere 4 runs after facing just 6 balls, and Kyle Verreynne managed only 9 runs before being sent back to the pavilion by Sri Lankan pacer Lahiru Kumara. Marco Jansen, a lower-order batsman, was dismissed by Jayasuriya.
Amidst this batting collapse, captain Temba Bavuma applied some pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers. At one stage, South Africa had lost five wickets for just 85 runs, but Bavuma took charge and scored 70 runs, including 9 fours and 1 six. He displayed great patience at the crease, remaining there for 221 minutes—an essential quality for playing Test cricket.
Despite South Africa’s total of 191 runs, many thought Sri Lanka would find it easier to chase since they had recently won a Test series against New Zealand on home soil. However, South African bowlers thoroughly dismantled the Sri Lankan batting lineup, particularly Marco Jansen, who took an impressive 7 wickets.
