Proteas crush Sri Lanka

PORT ELIZABETH. — South Africa’s bowlers needed a little more than an hour of the final day’s play to dismiss Sri Lanka for 281 in their second innings and claim a 206-run victory in the first Test cricket yesterday.

Kyle Abbott struck twice and Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and spinner Keshav Maharaj mopped up the tail to complete a comprehensive victory for the hosts at St George’s Park and conclude a satisfactory start to the three-match series.

And South African captain Faf du Plessis said there was room for improvement after his team completed a comfortable 206-run win in the first Test against Sri Lanka at St George’s Park yesterday.

It took just 70 minutes and 13.3 overs for South Africa to claim the remaining five Sri Lankan wickets on the final morning and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Fast bowler Abbott made two crucial strikes, dismissing overnight batsmen Angelo Mathews (59) and Dhananjaya de Silva (22) inside the first seven overs. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 281 after adding 41 runs yesterday.

“We’re playing some really good cricket,” said Du Plessis. “But it’s about being consistent. As a team we’re flying at about 80 percent, so we still have another 20 percent in the tank. The bowlers are doing a really good job but we can do better as a batting unit.” — Reuters.