The Galle demolition to the Durban miracle - Sri Lanka's recent dominance over South Africa
They've met four times since 2018 - and Sri Lanka have won all four Test matches
Dimuth Karunaratne plays a cut • Associated Press
On their previous trip to Sri Lanka in 2014, Dale Steyn had twice scorched his way through the Sri Lanka middle order with the old ball, and delivered his team a series-defining win. This time, he was coming back from injury, and some distance from his best. But it wasn't really South Africa's bowlers that failed. Batting first, Sri Lanka made a respectable - but hardly imposing - 287. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne had made 158 of those runs off 222 balls, remaining not out as all of his teammates perished for 26 or fewer runs.
Where Galle has a reputation for taking turn fairly early in the game, there was not a lot wrong with the pitch at the SSC. Sri Lanka made 338 batting first, as South Africa's quicks had a modest first innings, and Keshav Maharaj was left to pick up 9 for 129. But then, the batting. Dear god, the first-innings batting. Several members of the visiting top order seemed like they would struggle to make contact with a hangar door, let alone a bat. They were all out for 124, and seemed to be heading for a similar score in the second innings, when Theunis de Bruyn and Temba Bavuma came together at 113 for 5 and put on a 123-run partnership - de Bruyn going on to triple figures.
The most dramatic and compelling of the matches in this list. Almost two years later, it is still difficult to quite believe what transpired on the fourth day. Although South Africa were in control for much of the game, Sri Lanka vitally scrambled their way back into the match repeatedly. Some half-decent contributions from the lower order enabled the visitors to get within 50 runs of South Africa's first-innings 235. Then, whenever a South Africa batting pair threatened to bed down for a big partnership, either the left-arm spin of Lasith Embuldeniya, or the left-arm swing of Vishwa Fernando, provided a breakthrough.
Where the pitches in Sri Lanka suited them, and the Durban match was won on the back of a once-in-a-lifetime innings, this victory perhaps represents Sri Lanka's best team effort of the lot. Though shaken by the loss at Durban, South Africa were again in control early in this game, taking a 68-run first-innings lead.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. @afidelf