South Africa’s strong performance with both bat and ball helped them all but confirm their participation in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final as they beat Sri Lanka by 109 runs to reach the top of the table once again.
Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne helped South Africa post a total of 358 runs in the first innings.
Sri Lanka made a solid start in their first innings, with Pathum Nissanka top-scoring with 89. However, regular wickets from South Africa kept them in check.
South Africa came out for their second innings with a lead of 30 runs, and they quickly capitalized on Sri Lanka’s tired bowlers. Temba Bavuma led the charge with a gritty 66, while Aiden Markram added a quick-fire 55. With contributions from the tail, South Africa reached 317, setting Sri Lanka a challenging target of 348 to win the Test.
A 50-run knock from Dhananjaya de Silva and 46 from Kusal Mendis kept Sri Lanka’s hopes alive, but with wickets falling around them, they faced an uphill battle on the final day as the hosts secured a 2-0 series victory with Maharj picking up five wickets.
| Rank | Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Ties | Point Deductions | Points | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 76 | 63.33% |
| 2 | Australia | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 102 | 60.71% |
| 3 | India | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 110 | 57.29% |
| 4 | Sri Lanka | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 45.45% |
| 5 | England | 21 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 22 | 114 | 45.24% |
| 6 | New Zealand | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 44.23% |
| 7 | Pakistan | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 40 | 33.33% |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 45 | 31.25% |
| 9 | West Indies | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 24.24% |
South Africa will have one final hurdle to deal with in-form Pakistan. A win in the upcoming two-match series would punch their ticket for the final where they are likely to face Australia with India also in contention.