RSA VS SL - 2nd Test, Sri Lanka tour of South Africa, 2019

So keeping up with how we started the day, Sri Lanka might not have a coach hell bent on claiming the rights to be the world's best travelling side, but they've successfully humbled the world's number two side. Surely South Africa wouldn't have given them a chance two weeks ago. Forget South Africa, even Sri Lanka wouldn't have given themselves a chance two weeks ago. But then, it's been that quiet a steal. And just as quietly, we'll be stepping out to as I, Vineet Anantharaman, sign off on behalf of Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Nikhil Jadhav and Shashikant Singh. Until the ODIs, and some boiling revenge that awaits, ta ta!!

And he can walk over for the trophy, it was the FINAL Asian bastion left to be conquered ever since cricket is being played. Mark this date, mark this team. They also get a champions board to stand behind to and shout for the cameras. But again, unlike some of the other final frontier celebrations we saw in Australia last month, this one is very, very gentle. At least in front of the cameras.

Dimuth Karunaratne | Winning skipper: It is a great feeling for us as a team. It isn't easy coming to South Africa and winning 2-0. The guys played really well, they enjoyed themselves a lot and that's why we have created history. We have learnt a lot of things in Australia and the players wanted to do something special. They stuck to the basics and executed it well because of which we are here. The youngsters in particular did really well; so did the bowling lineup. The only concern was the batting in the first innings, but the bowlers did a great job in keeping us in the game. I would like to dedicate this win to all the Sri Lankan fans who supported us when we were losing.

Kusal Perera | Man of the Series: I had a lot of good comments about my innings in the last game and it makes me feel really good. Fernando did really well for us, but credit goes to every single player. Normally coaches tell me to back myself and play my normal game. I play to my strengths and know that I will get the results if I do that. I am really happy to have won 2-0.

Kusal Mendis | Man of the Match: I am very happy that I did well in this game and would like to continue my form from 2018. Would also like to thank the support staff, the physio - since I had twisted my ankle - and would like to thank the entire team [As translated from Sinhala]

Faf du Plessis (2/2): It's absolutely mind blowing (31 wickets on the first two days) and I was thinking the exact same thing on the field. Batting out there yesterday felt like a very good wicket, and despite there being a bit of nip, it wasn't very tough. There was some bad batting from both sides for the first two days and they showed today that if you applied yourselves, you could make it look easy. It is a massive dent; we were looking good until this Test series, but we went down as a team in these last two matches. We have prepared the same way as we usually do, we didn't take them for granted. It has been a long season, the guys have toiled hard and mentally it has been tough which is probably why we've been off the boil. We have a big five months coming up and for us we need to ensure that our preparations aren't taken for granted. We can try and control the way we prepare against an opposition. They will now be high on confidence for the one-day series, but our guys should be really motivated for what lies ahead. It's just one series and then the World Cup. We need to ensure along with the coach that there are no small weaknesses creeping into the dressing room.

Faf du Plessis | Losing skipper (1/2): Very disappointing and it's probably down there with the most disappointing moments as a team. You don't want to be a losing series at home. We obviously didn't play well, but to come to our backyard and beat us 2-0 means you've done something right; so good luck to them. We were pretty poor with the bat throughout the series and I thought both teams under performed with the bat. The pitches were conducive for batting and on this wicket we should have scored a lot more runs. No fingers should be pointed at the wicket but they bowled well and the disappointment lies within the team. We have some great batters in our side and 99-percent of our dismissals were soft judgement errors and that's only a finger pointing back at ourselves.

Teams winning series in South Africa since re-admission:
Australia (1997,2002,2006,2009,2014)
England (2004-05, 2015-16)
Sri Lanka (2019)

Highest targets chased down by SL:
388 v Zim, Colombo RPS, 2017
352 v SA, Colombo PSS, 2006
326 v Zim, Colombo SSC, 1998
304 v SA, Durban, 2019
220 v Pak, Rawalpindi, 2000
197 v SA, Port Elizabeth, 2019 *

Highest partnerships for SL in 4th innings:
216 R Dias - D Mendis 4th wkt v Ind Kandy 1985
189*A de Silva - A Ranatunga 6th wkt v Zim Colombo SSC 1998
163*O Fernando - K Mendis 3rd wkt v SA Port Elizabeth 2019 *

18 wicketless overs for Dale Steyn- the longest for him without a wicket in a home Test

Now factor this: Chandimal - dropped. Mathews - absent. Dilruwan - dropped. Kumara - injured. Captain - missing. Coach - fresh from being stripped of the selector's tag. And most of them here on their first trip, against a side fresh from inflicting a 3-0 thrashing. If Durban was a once in a lifetime daylight robbery, Port Elizabeth was as professionally clinical as you can get. To imagine they were 68 runs down in the first innings, and to also imagine them having followed up an eighteen-wicket day with a session of non-flustered wicketless batting to seal things off. It did look like South Africa had more than a sniff a couple of hours ago, but Fernando and Mendis completely shut shop and shut down their hopes with what would go down into Youtube's virality.

Harsha Bhogle: Wow, Sri Lanka! Hats off! Going where no Asian team has gone before, where better Sri Lankan teams haven't. This is big! Very big. We knew of the undeniable class of Kusal Mendis. But this Oshada Fernando can bat! Many heroes for Sri Lanka, especially with ball in hand.

12:05 Local Time | Match End: Well they didn't have their best players, they were on a musical chairs for the skipper, battered big time in Australia, humbled at home to England, and Sri Lanka do what their much-celebrated, bigger bullying neighbours couldn't in all these 27 years. And they've done it so damn quietly. So much so that there are barely any celebrations, you know, just the normal handshakes. Hmmm. Let's hope you know what you've done out there boys!

Maharaj to Oshada Fernando, 1 run, here she is, and history is Sri Lanka's. Drifting into the pads and it's courtesy a simple nonchalant tickle off the legs through square leg. 2-0

Maharaj to Oshada Fernando, no run, boooo. Just a proper front-footed smother

Maharaj to Oshada Fernando, SIX, SL=SA. Oh he's not hanging around, neither is anybody onto their superstitious seats in the dressing room. Fernando rushes down the pitch, bang to the pitch of it, taking on the flight and tonking it long and mighty into long-on

Maharaj to Kusal Mendis, 1 run, back, away, stabbing it away through point

AJ: Lots of players in SL are short. This gives the SA bowlers a very fine margin of error to bowl, specially in case of bouncers or good length bowling. This might be a reason for their ineffectiveness.

Wiaan Mulder to Oshada Fernando, no run, 128kph. Beaten. Wafty drive away from his body, loses shape, ends up one-handed - with the ball just not coming on as expected

Wiaan Mulder to Oshada Fernando, no run, a hint of seam away off a length on middle. Fernando covers it, getting behind to knock it away to leg softly

Wiaan Mulder to Kusal Mendis, 1 run, punched away on the up, arching back as he does. And backward point misfields .. 8

Chethan C R: Sri Lanka should make sure that this series victory is not a fluke. They have to show some consistency against quality sides..

Wiaan Mulder to Kusal Mendis, no run, 129kph, skips backwards, riding the bounce in the tall defence

Wiaan Mulder to Kusal Mendis, no run, fourth-stump. More of the pressy blocks

Wiaan Mulder to Kusal Mendis, no run, 133kph, good length on off. A full lean, head-on-ball stuff to keep it out