South Africa took the last five wickets in the first 14 overs of the final day to beat Sri Lanka by 206 runs in the first Test on Friday.
Kyle Abbott removed Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews for 59 in the third over of the morning to begin the slide as the tourists were dismissed for 281, adding just 41 runs on Day 5 for the loss of those five wickets.
Kagiso Rabada had three for 77, fellow seamer Abbott two for 38 and spinner Keshav Maharaj three for 86 for South Africa, who ended 2016 on course for a third straight series win and on the way back up after losing their No 1 ranking at the start of the year.
The second of three Tests begins in Cape Town on Monday.
South Africa’s victory in Port Elizabeth was set up by their 406 for six declared in their second innings, with 117 from Stephen Cook and half-centuries by Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and Dean Elgar.
With Sri Lanka 240 for five overnight, Abbott trapped Mathews lbw in the paceman’s second over of the morning, with the Sri Lankan captain adding just one run to his overnight score, for an early blow. Abbott also had Dhananjaya de Silva — the last recognised batsman — out lbw four overs later and the Sri Lankan tail fell away quickly.
Strangely, Sri Lanka ended with a record despite their heavy loss, with their 281 the highest fourth-innings score in a Test at St George’s Park. That will be of no consolation to the Sri Lankans, who face another uphill task having never won a Test series in South Africa.
South Africa lost a home series to England at the start of the year and saw Hashim Amla resign as captain, but they have dragged themselves back with series wins over New Zealand and Australia, and now have an early lead against Sri Lanka.
“We had to toil for this one,” Du Plessis said. “But from Day 1 we played some good cricket. I’m very happy with how the game went.
“The boys worked hard yesterday but got their rewards today. The bowlers were relentless on their line and length.
“I feel like as a team were are at about 80 per cent so hopefully we can get better as a batting unit.”
* Reuters
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