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Jansen stars with 11 wickets after Sri Lanka’s resistance for WTC boost
South Africa have moved to second place on the World Test Championship [WTC] table after a 233-run victory over Sri Lanka in Durban to break the visitors’ unbeaten record at the venue. Marco Jansen finished with 11 wickets in the game with 4 for 73 in the second innings.
After setting Sri Lanka a target of 516 and taking five wickets on the third evening, South Africa may have expected play on the fourth day to be nothing more than a formality. But they were made to work for their win after half-centuries from Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva and 48 from Kusal Mendis made them toil until deep into the second session. Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 282, an improvement on their first-innings effort by multiples.
Ultimately, they will look back at the minutes of madness, in which they were bowled out for 42, as where the match was lost. It gave South Africa a 149-run first-innings lead, the best batting conditions of the match and the cushioning to build a big lead at their own pace. They then got to work defending it.
Under blue skies and with a dry wind blowing, the pitch was placid on day four as well and Sri Lanka took advantage. Chandimal and Dhananjaya put on a sixth-wicket stand of 95 runs before Chandimal and Mendis combined for 75 against a South African attack that was without the injured Wiaan Mulder and the movement of the first three days.
Still, South Africa started threateningly when Kagiso Rabada beat Dhananjaya’s edge with the fifth ball of the morning and Gerald Coetzee found it with the 12th. The chance fell to the left of Jansen at gully. Dhananjaya responded by piercing the midwicket gap to hit Rabada for four and pulling Coetzee in front of square. Chandimal also dealt with a Coetzee short ball well and cut him for four through point.
Rabada bowled a five-over spell that cost 18 runs without success, and once he was off, Sri Lanka’s pair could settle in. Dhananjaya drove Jansen through the covers, Chandimal whacked him in the same area to bring up the 150 and they both took on Maharaj, who got almost no turn. By the first drinks break, Sri Lanka had scored 61 runs in 16 overs at a rate of just under four to the over.
Chandimal brought up his fifty immediately after the interval with an authoritative pull off Jansen and Dhananjaya reached his milestone in the next over, off 66 balls, a sign of the aggression with which he batted. He played one more shot in anger when he hit Maharaj over long-off for six. Maharaj had the last laugh, though, when Dhananjaya chipped an innocuous delivery to Tristan Stubbs at short midwicket for 59.
That brought Mendis, on the back of four ducks in South Africa, to the crease. He got his first runs in five innings with a cover drive that went for four, and also raised the Sri Lankan 200. He was nearly run out later in the over when he took off for a run without conferring with Chandimal but made it back in time.
South Africa brought back Rabada for a pre-lunch burst but a selection of short balls were well negotiated. Rabada also took his no-ball count for the innings to 10, with five in the morning session as Sri Lanka went to lunch on 220 for 6. They scored 117 runs in 32 overs in an extended first session.
The 10 overs post lunch were laced with gifts from South Africa as Sri Lanka piled on 47 runs helped by a team that could afford to try things, given the runs at their disposal. Without a gully in place, Mendis square drove Jansen for four and then took 15 runs off his 19th over, as Jansen missed his lengths completely. Maharaj was also on the receiving end of Mendis’ aggression as he moved in sight of a half-century.
Not long into his third spell, Coetzee sent down a half-volley down leg and it seemed South Africa could get nothing right either side of the pitch. His next ball was on middle and Chandimal tried to flick it away but closed the face of the bat too early and got a leading edge back to Coetzee. He let his relief out into the pitch with a series of throat-curdling screams.
In the next over, Maharaj drew Vishwa Fernando forward and had him caught at slip by Aiden Markram. Jansen was brought back and he cleaned things up when he had Mendis caught behind to take his 10th for the match and bowled Asitha Fernando as he tried to cover the line of a ball sliding down leg. Jansen’s 11 for 86 are the second best figures at Kingsmead after Clarrie Grimmett’s 13 for 173 in 1936.
Brief scores:
South Africa 191 (Temba Bavuma 70, Asitha Fernando 3-44, Lahiru Kumara 3-70, Vishwa Fernando 2-35, Prabath Jayasuriya 2-34) and 366 for 5 dec (Tristan Stubbs 122, Temba Bavuma 113; Vishwa Fernando 2-64, Prabath Jayasuriya 2-132) beat Sri Lanka 42 (Marco Jansen 7-13, Gerald Coetzee 2-18) and282 (Dinesh Chandimal 83, Dhananjaya de Silva 59, Kusal Mendis 48; Marco Jansen 4-73, Kagiso Rabada 2-65, Gerald Coetzee 2-67, Keshav Maharaj 2-67 ) by 233 runs
[Cricinfo]
Building on its success in seizing major narcotic stocks in 2025, the Navy continued to support the “A Nation United” National Mission in 2026. In continuation of these efforts, during an
operation conducted on the high seas south of Sri Lanka, the Navy apprehended eleven (11) suspects aboard two local multi-day fishing trawlers suspected of drug smuggling.
Based on shared information, by the Sri Lanka Navy and Police, this special operation was conducted off the southern coast, deploying the Navy‟s Offshore Patrol Vessels. The operation
resulted in the interception of a multi-day fishing trawler suspected of smuggling narcotics, and the apprehension of five (05) suspects on board.
During further operations in the same area, naval units seized another multi-day fishing trawler (01), along with communication equipment and six (06) additional suspects, also believed to be involved in drug smuggling.
This morning (25 Jan 26), the two intercepted fishing trawlers, along with fourteen (14) sacks laden with suspected narcotics and the suspects, were brought to the Dikovita Fisheries Harbour.
An expert examination by the Police Narcotic Bureau confirmed that the fourteen (14) sacks contained more than 184 kilograms of heroin and over 112 kilograms of ‘Ice’ (crystal methamphetamine).
The Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General (Retd) Aruna Jayasekara, the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda, and the Inspector General of Police, Priyantha Weerasuriya, inspected the narcotics at the Dikovita harbour.
The Deputy Minister of Defence said that the current administration has initiated several projects for national development. As a flagship initiative, under the directives and guidance of the President, and under the supervision of the
Ministry of Defence, well-coordinated anti-narcotic raids have been launched.
This effort, part of “A Nation United” National Mission, involves the tri-forces, police, and all intelligence agencies working together under a coordinated plan to ensure that drug smugglers have no opportunity to bring narcotics into the country, he opined. He further stated that despite the national disaster situation, the state machinery, including the tri-forces, the police, and the public at large, remains united in rebuilding the nation, no room will be left for drug trafficking, which poses a severe threat to national security and public safety. Those
who engage in or support drug trafficking, under the cover of fishing activities, will find no escape, he added.
The Deputy Minister also reaffirmed that the tri-forces, police, and all law enforcement agencies are fully committed to their duty of suppressing this menace.
The Deputy Minister of Defence reported that, throughout 2025, a series of highly successful operations were conducted leading to numerous arrests. This was achieved through close coordination and mutual cooperation among the tri-services, the police, the Special Task Force, Police Narcotics Bureau, local law enforcement and international agencies. He noted that this
same spirit of cooperation and commitment has continued into 2026, resulting in the seizure of a large stockpile of drugs.
On behalf of the Honourable President, he extended gratitude to all who contributed to these efforts, specifically acknowledging the Commander of the Navy, the Inspector General of Police, the Police Narcotic Bureau, and the crews of the Navy’s Offshore
Patrol Vessels.
Moreover, the Deputy Minister declared that drug smuggling has become a national crisis, fueled by youth involvement and social crime. With borders secured under the “Nation United” National Mission, he warned traffickers to cease operations and urged users to abandon the destructive habit.
The Deputy Minister urged the public to report suspected drug smugglers to law enforcement via the hotlines 1818 or 1997 and also commended the role of media institutions and journalists in raising public awareness about the dangers of narcotics through responsible reporting.
Meanwhile, the two (02) multi-day fishing trawlers, along with a haul of narcotics, eleven (11) suspects, and communication equipment, were handed over to the Police Narcotic Bureau for
further investigation and legal proceedings.
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[Cricbuzz]
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[Cricbuzz]
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