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SL vs SA: Sri Lanka suffered a remarkable collapse in the first innings of the Durban Test, where they were bowled over for just 42 runs, which is their lowest-ever total in Test cricket. Their previous lowest was 71, set at Kandy in 1994 against Pakistan. It also is the second-lowest score in the history of the World Test Championship with India’s 36 all-out against Australia in 2020 holding the record for the lowest score.
The Sri Lankan innings lasted only 13.5 overs, making it the second-shortest innings in Test cricket history. South Africa, on the other hand, has been recorded as the shortest, where they were bowled out for 30 in 12.3 overs against England in 1924.
Marco Jansen’s record-breaking spell in the SL vs SA Test
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Marco Jansen was South Africa’s standout performer in the match, taking seven wickets off just 41 balls, equalling the record for the fewest balls taken to take seven wickets in a men’s Test innings. This is the second instance of this feat after Hugh Trumble took seven wickets off 41 balls in the 1904 Melbourne Test against England.
Sri Lanka’s total of 42 is not only the lowest score they have made against South Africa but also the third-lowest total ever in South Africa. The previous record for the lowest score in the country was 30, which South Africa managed to score in 1896 against England in Port Elizabeth, and 35 in Cape Town against England in 1899.
It was an especially economical spell by Jansen as he gave only 13 runs in the seven-wicket haul. Among test bowlers, just three have taken seven wickets or more and allowed less than what Jansen allowed on the day at Wellington. He is matched with George Lohmann’s feat 7 for 8 that he captured in South Africa in 1896.
Five Sri Lankan batsmen were dismissed for ducks in the first innings, matching the joint-highest number of ducks in a Test innings for the team. This feat has also occurred on two other occasions in Sri Lankan history: against India in 1990 at Chandigarh and against New Zealand in 2006 at Wellington.
It was the first time that a team, South Africa, was bowled out for 200 or fewer runs to take a lead of 149 runs. The highest lead taken by a team that was bowled out for 200 or fewer runs was 118 runs. It was by Australia in 1981 when they were bowled out for 180 against Pakistan at the WACA.
On the positive side, Prabhat Jayasuriya reached a personal milestone for Sri Lanka in his 17th Test when he attained his 100th wicket, which ranks him among the fastest to get to that mark. The record for the fastest to 100 wickets stands with George Lohmann, who got to 100 wickets in just 16 Tests. However, Jayasuriya shares the second-fastest mark with several others.
This SL vs SA Durban Test match will surely go down as one of the worst days in Sri Lanka’s Test cricket history, but on the same day, individual achievements were achieved by South African bowlers.
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