Sri Lanka bowled out for 42 by South Africa, slump to their lowest score in Test cricket

Sri Lanka's 42 all out, bowled out by South Africa in just 13.5 overs, marks their lowest Test total and the ninth lowest overall, with Marco Jansen taking a career-best 7/13.

New Delhi: Sri Lanka have recorded their lowest total in Test cricket after being bowled out for just 42 by South Africa in their ongoing series-opening game at Kingsmead on Thursday. Sri Lanka’s 42 all out came in only 13.5 overs, and easily went past their previous lowest Test total of 71, which came against Pakistan in Kandy in 1994. It is also the ninth lowest Test total overall. Fast-bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen was the main wrecker-in-chief by picking a career-best haul of 7-13 in 6.5 overs.

He was well supported by fellow fast bowlers Gerald Coetzee (2-18) and Kagiso Rabada (1-10). Only two Sri Lanka players were able to get into double-digits, with Kamindu Mendis’ 13 being the best score and as many as four players bagging ducks.

The 42 all out by Sri Lanka is also the lowest total by any team against South Africa, after New Zealand were bowled out for 45 by the Proteas in Cape Town in 2013. The visitors’ innings lasted just 83 balls, eight short of the overall record of the 75 balls South Africa played when they were bowled out for just 30 by England in Birmingham in 1924.

Among the lowest Test totals since the 2000s began, Sri Lanka’s 42 all out is now the third-lowest score, after India’s 36 all out in 2020 and Ireland being dismissed for 38 in 2019. Being dismissed for 42 and giving South Africa a 149-run lead is a huge setback for Sri Lanka’s chances of entering next year’s World Test Championship final.

In the morning, after Day One was cut short by rain, South Africa amassed 111 runs in an extended morning session before being dismissed for 191, as captain Temba Bavuma top-scored with 70.