Sri Lanka in South Africa, 2011-12

At Cape Town, January 3-6, 2012. South Africa won by ten wickets. Toss: Sri Lanka.

South Africa won a home Test series for the first time since November 2008, rediscovering the form of Centurion to put Durban behind them. Dilshan's decision to bowl on one of the best batting surfaces in the world - at least in January - was questionable, but there was some method to his madness: he had been in the last Sri Lankan side to bat first at Newlands, 11 years earlier, when they were skittled for 95.

Dilshan seemed almost justified when Prasad ran in for his first ball of the series and bowled Smith off the inside edge. Prasad also accounted for Amla, and should have had Kallis as well. Still struggling against the short ball, he pulled airily on one to fine leg, where Welagedara failed to see it and made no attempt at a catch. After his pair in Durban, that was all the invitation Kallis needed. He continued pulling, taking care to keep the ball down, and punctuated his innings with aggressive cuts and drives. Petersen, restored to the opening position after Rudolph's underwhelming return to Test cricket led to his demotion to No. 6, wrested some of the spotlight with a fluent hundred in his first Test knock for a year.

Sri Lanka were lethargic in the field. Their lack of pace and the paucity of turn for Herath on a first-day pitch made them cannon fodder for Kallis and Petersen, who put on 205 for the third wicket at a run-rate that did not fall below four, although the bowlers pulled things back in the final session when Kallis retreated into cautious mode. He did, however, take his total past 150 - a sentimental landmark in his 150th Test. De Villiers was content to be a supporting actor as South Africa ground out an unassailable position. While Kallis grafted his way to the second double-century of his Test career, de Villiers blitzed the bowlers with an array of audacious strokes. Even when Kallis was dismissed, for a career-best 224 in 325 balls, de Villiers kept mowing. Rudolph had time to score a confidence-boosting fifty before Smith declared with half an hour until tea.

For the first time in the series, Dilshan produced a response to match South Africa. He emerged from the pavilion his old self and took Sri Lanka beyond 50 in the 13th over. Thirimanne was more diffident in his first game of the tour and soon played around a straight one from Morkel. And then Dilshan was superbly caught in the deep by Smith to end the day. Next morning no one could stand up for Sri Lanka against Philander's exquisite seam movement. Fit again after missing Durban, and back in place of de Lange, he worked over Samaraweera and returned to nip out the tail.

Sri Lanka were bowled out 142 runs behind the follow-on target, and it was no surprise when they were sent back in. With one foot in the one-day series, Dilshan tossed his wicket away, swishing at Philander. Sangakkara, playing back to Imran Tahir, and Jayawardene, meekly edging Morkel, were unable to provide a riposte.

Samaraweera survived to stumps and, with Mathews, held South Africa at bay for just over a session before Philander again intervened, as had become his habit. Mathews was hit firmly below the knee roll, bang in front, but such was the hopelessness of Sri Lanka's position that he reviewed the decision all the same. They scraped 102 more runs as Samaraweera brought up a second century of the series, and gave them a one-run lead by the time Welagedara was bowled by Kallis, who also took six catches in a memorable match.

South Africa achieved the target without facing a legal delivery (the first such instance in Test history) when Prasad overstepped, and Petersen pushed down the ground for one. The win was Smith's 41st as captain, drawing him level with Steve Waugh and behind only Ricky Ponting, on 48.

Man of the Match: J. H. Kallis. Man of the Series: A. B. de Villiers.
Close of play: First day, South Africa 347-3 (Kallis 159, de Villiers 45); Second day, Sri Lanka 149-2 (Sangakkara 35, Jayawardene 7); Third day, Sri Lanka 138-4 (Samaraweera 19, Mathews 28).