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Stats Analysis

Sri Lanka's batting debacle

Sri Lanka's batting numbers presented a sorry picture at the end of their 3-0 series drubbing in Johannesburg

S Rajesh
S Rajesh
14-Jan-2017
Sri Lanka's batsmen had little to cheer in the three Tests in South Africa  •  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Sri Lanka's batsmen had little to cheer in the three Tests in South Africa  •  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

16 Wickets lost by Sri Lanka on the third day in Johannesburg, their most in a single day of Test cricket. Their previous most was 15, on the third day of the Bangalore Test against India in January 1994.
88.1 Overs faced by Sri Lanka in the entire Test; only three times have they survived fewer balls when losing 20 wickets in a Test, and two of those were also in South Africa. This is their sixth-lowest balls faced in any Test they have lost - there were two instances when one or more batsman was injured and didn't bat in the second innings.
Fewest balls faced by Sri Lanka in a Test defeat
Opposition Runs Wkts Balls faced Ground Year
 Australia  259  17  408  Melbourne  2012
 England  210  20  433  Leeds  2016
 South Africa  275  20  504  Cape Town  2001
 Pakistan  210  19  514  Kandy  1986
 South Africa  330  20  521  Centurion  2011
 South Africa  308  20  529  Johannesburg  2017
 Pakistan  305  20  539  Kandy  1994
 West Indies  375  18  619  St John's  1997
18.8 Sri Lanka's average runs per wicket in this series, their second-lowest in any series of three or more Tests. The only instance when they averaged lower was also in South Africa, in 2000-01, when they averaged 18.05 runs per wicket. Sri Lanka had only three 50-plus scores in the three matches, which equals their lowest in a three-Test series.
59 Sri Lanka's highest score in the series, their lowest top score in any series of two or more Tests. Their previous lowest was 77, also in South Africa, in the two-Test series in 1997-98.
4 Instances of South Africa winning all Tests of a series of three or more matches. All of them have been at home - against Australia in 1969-70, against West Indies (1998-99), against Pakistan (2012-13), and this one. For Sri Lanka, this is the fifth time they have been on the receiving end of a series whitewash (three or more Tests).
6 Instances of South Africa beating Sri Lanka by an innings, out of their 14 wins against them. The innings-and-118-run win was their third-largest margin of victory against Sri Lanka.
Innings wins for South Africa v Sri Lanka
Margin Toss Ground Year
 inns & 229 runs  lost  Cape Town  2001
 inns & 208 runs  lost  Colombo (SSC)  1993
 inns & 118 runs  won  Johannesburg  2017
 inns & 81 runs  won  Centurion  2011
 inns & 64 runs  lost  Johannesburg  2002
 inns & 7 runs  lost  Centurion  2001
6 Wickets for Wayne Parnell in the match, his best in a Test. In four previous Tests he had only taken seven wickets.
22 Instances of Sri Lanka following on in Tests, of which three have been against South Africa. They have lost 19 of those - including all to South Africa - and drawn only three. South Africa have enforced the follow on 27 times, but the last time they did so before this Test was in December 2014, against West Indies.

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo. @rajeshstats