South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 109 runs to sweep series

South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by 109 runs in the second Test at St George’s Park on Monday (09) to complete a sweep of the two-match series.

Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj picked up 5-76 as South Africa bowled Sri Lanka out well short of their 348-run target on the final morning.

With this whitewash South Africa are now at the top of the World Test Championship points table, having upstaged second-placed Australia. With two home Tests to follow against Pakistan, they will aim to give themselves a shot at glory in Lord’s 2025.

The defeat though has dented Sri Lanka’s hopes of a top-two finish but they are still in the running to make the title clash slated to be held at the Lord’s from June 11 to 15 next year. They are static at fourth despite their percentage of points won dropping to 45.45.

The day started with the contest nicely poised. Sri Lanka needed 143 runs on the final day while South Africa five wickets. However, the hosts the set batters Kusal Mendis (46) and captain Dhananjaya de Silva (50) in quick succession to push the tourists on the backfoot.

Keshav Maharaj went on to complete his five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 238 in 69.1 overs as South Africa completed an emphatic 109-run win. South Africa had won the series opener by 233 runs that saw Sri Lanka being shot out for 42 in their first innings.

The South African team will next host Pakistan for a two-match Test series and will aim for another clean sweep. The series starts from December 26 in Centurion. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be hosting Australia in January next year at home for a two-match Test series.

--With agencies inputs