Left-arm quick Marco Jansen finished with 11 wickets across the two innings as South Africa bested Sri Lanka by 233 runs in the first of two Tests in Durban.
As a result of the win, the Proteas have now pipped Australia and sit second in the ICC World Test Championship points table. Sri Lanka on the other hand, have slipped from third to the fifth spot.
Chasing a mighty total of 516, Sri Lanka resumed their chase on Day 4 at 103/5 with Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva in the middle.
The duo compiled half-centuries, forging a 95-run partnership for the sixth wicket as the visitors managed to restore calm after the Proteas pacers had run through half of the Sri Lankan batting late on Day 3.
But just as the two were nearing a century stand, Keshav Maharaj struck to tilt the momentum back in the home side’s favor just before Lunch.
Chandimal continued the rearguard effort, piling on 83 off 174 deliveries, finishing top-scorer of Sri Lanka’s second innings after a caught and bowled dismissal at the hands of Gerald Coetzee.
Coming in to bat at eight, Kusal Mendis also scored a handy 48 but it wasn’t to be enough as South Africa wrapped up the win in the second session.
Earlier, the foundation of the win had been laid by skipper Temba Bavuma, who scored 70 and 113 across the two innings and Tristan Stubbs, who also notched a century in the second innings.
With the ball, after being bundled out for 191, the Proteas had managed to seize a big advantage as Jansen snapped seven wickets and the visitors were dismissed for a record-low total of 42.
