Sri Lanka stun South Africa in epic win
Sri Lanka pulled off a stunning against-the-odds run chase with a record last-wicket partnership of 78 to beat South Africa by one wicket in the first test in Durban yesterday.
Kusal Perera almost singlehandedly won the game with his 153 not out, but No 11 batsman Vishwa Fernando played a crucial role as he hung around for 27 balls for his 6 not out to allow Perera to guide Sri Lanka home.
Chasing an unlikely 304, the tourists were 226-9 and looked out of it. But Perera and Fernando had other ideas and took the inexperienced Sri Lankans – written off at the start of the series – to a thrilling victory against an attack that included Dale Steyn and topranked test bowler Kagiso Rabada.
Perera scored 67 of those 78 runs for the last wicket and won it with a late cut down to the boundary for four, prompting Sri Lankan players to sprint from the dressing room out onto the pitch to congratulate their match winner.
Perera removed his helmet and thrust both arms up in the air to celebrate one of the best innings by a Sri Lankan, and one of the team’s most remarkable victories.
It was the 28-year-old’s careerbest score.
Sri Lanka’s 304-9 was the third-highest successful run chase in nearly 100 years of test cricket at Kingsmead – the partnership between Perera and Fernando was a record for the highest 10th-wicket partnership to win a test.
The scintillating victory also gave Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead in the short two-test series and ended South Africa’s run of seven straight home series wins.
Sri Lanka had lost their last three series coming into this contest and had two debutants and a new captain for the first test, and two other bowlers with just seven tests between them. Fernando, the unlikely hero with the bat at the end, was one of those two bowlers new to test cricket.
That lineup and recent form meant few people gave the inexperienced visiting team a chance against South Africa, who have won every series they have played at home for the last three years.
Almost nobody thought victory would be possible when South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj had Kasun Rajitha lbw
for 1 to leave Sri Lanka 226-9.
At the time, Perera was on 86. But he threw caution to the wind, crunching all five of his sixes in that game-winning lastwicket stand.
‘‘I’m a bit tired now,’’ he said after his match-winning exploits. ‘‘Especially good effort as a team, especially the lower-order batsmen there giving me support.’’
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis labelled Perera as ‘‘unbelievable’’.
‘‘A superman effort. He deserves all the accolades that will come to him after this game.
‘‘We can go back and try and figure out where it went wrong and what we did wrong and what we could have done better but, end of the day, it was an amazing batting performance.’’
Having come off the back of series losses to New Zealand and Australia prior to this trip, Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusingha was delighted for his side.
‘‘I think this young team needed this kind of a win,’’ he said.
‘‘This is outstanding. We never saw it coming.’’
‘‘A superman effort. He deserves all the accolades that will come to him after this game.’’
South African captain Faf du Plessis on Kusal Perera