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Galle
20 - 23 July 2000
Sri Lankan captain Jayasuriya won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch seemingly designed for spinners over the final days. He then went on to score at a run a ball to see Sri Lanka safely through the vital first session of the first test to be 145 without loss. By the end of the first day, Sri Lanka had amassed 341 runs for the loss of five wickets with Jayasuriya featuring with 148. South Africa did not know what hit them and at best could only hope for a draw.
On the second morning, Sri Lanka went out and finished the task of batting South Africa out of the game. South Africa managed to capture two more wickets in the morning session, but at a cost of another 103 runs. The innings eventually ended mid way through the afternoon session. South Africa took the final three wickets after another 78 runs had been added and the total stood at 522. Top scorer for Sri Lanka was Jayawardene with 167 while Pollock (3 for 73 off 30.4 overs) and Adams (3 for 184 off 45 overs) shared the bowling honours.
South Africa batted until stumps, losing both openers by the time the total reached 30. They ended the day at 2 for 80, still needing 242 to avoid the follow on target. The next morning again belonged to Sri Lanka as they took four more wickets before lunch to leave South Africa at 6 for 182. By tea, South Africa had been dismissed for a total of 238, not yet half way to the target and 84 runs short of the follow on target. Top scorer for South Africa was Cullinan (114*) while Muralitharan returned to form with 6 for 87 off 41 overs. Jayasuriya had no hesitation in enforcing the follow on and by stumps South Africa were 2 for 112.
The fourth morning saw another five wickets fall to be 7 for 229 at lunch. The inevitable end came in the afternoon session and South Africa's second innings total of 269 fell 15 runs short of forcing Sri Lanka to bat a second time. Rhodes (63*) was the highlight for South Africa while man of the match Muralitharan took 7 for 84 off 35 overs to give match figures of 13 for 171.
Second Test
Kandy
30 July - 2 August 2000
Sri Lanka won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat. By the end of the second over both openers were back in the pavilion without a run on the board. Shortly afterwards South Africa had crashed to 5 for 34 before Boucher and Klusner steadied the innings to reach 5 for 77 at lunch. Still, a series loss loomed large. After lunch they scored more freely before another collapse to be 8 for 173 with Klusner still at the wicket. However, Sri Lanka was unable to deliver the killer punch and the final two wickets added another 80 runs. Klusner (118*) top scored with his third test century in the respectable total of 253 runs. Dharmasena was the most successful bowler with 3 for 58 off 20 overs. Sri Lanka batted out the final few overs to be 15 without loss at stumps.
Sri Lanka batted solidly throughout the second. They moved to 1 for 99 at lunch and then added another hundred runs in the afternoon session, despite two more silly run outs, to be 4 for 199. When bad light stopped play they had past the South African total to be 4 for 260 with Attapattu (102*) making his fifth test century. A large first innings lead looked likely.
On the third morning South Africa yet again refused to throw in the towel. After a little over an hour's play, they had bundled out the remaining 6 batsmen by the time the total reached 308. Attapattu (120) top scored while Pollock bowled his team back into the match with 3 for 83 off 24 overs. South Africa then lost both openers to be 2 for 44 at lunch. South Africa continued steadily lose wickets and when bad light stopped play they were 8 for 192 and a slender lead of 137 runs.
On the fourth morning, Sri Lanka again failed to deliver the blow required to put the South Africans out of the test and the series. The tail managed to push the total to 231 leaving a 177 run final innings target for the home team on a deteriorating pitch. Top scorer in the innings was Kallis (87) while Muralitharan took 3 for 76 off 36 overs.
Sri Lanka started the run chase poorly, crashing to 4 for 21 before Arnold and Ranatunga recovered to be 4 for 41 at lunch - still requiring another 136 runs to take the test and the series. These batsmen took the total to 130 and within striking distance of victory before Arnold's departure led to another mini collapse. By the time Ranatunga (88) was eventually dismissed Sri Lanka needed only 17 more runs with three wickets remaining. They managed to add ten runs before losing the test by 7 runs.
Third Test
Colombo
6 - 10 August 2000
Sri Lanka won the toss and again asked the South Africans to bat. However, play was delayed in the morning by nearly an hour due to rain. McKenzie made another duck, leaving South Africa in early trouble. They lost wickets steadily throughout the day as rain came and went. Play ended at 7 for 194 after rain returned yet again in the evening session with Klusner still at the wicket.
South Africa batted through until half an hour past lunch when they were eventually dismissed for 279 runs. With the last four wickets costing 162 runs, Sri Lanka yet again failed to land a killing blow. Klusner (95*) was the best of the batsmen while Vaas with 4 for 85 off 36 overs was the best of the bowlers. Sri Lanka batted through a rain interrupted afternoon to finish at stumps at 4 for 138 needing a further 141 runs to erase the deficit.
Rain again featured in the morning session on day three. Sri Lanka batted throughout the day losing a wicket every 50 minutes or so. They were dismissed late in the afternoon for a total of 258 runs and a deficit of 21 runs. Top scorer was Jayasuriya with 85 while Boje was the most successful bowler with 5 for 62 off 34 overs. South Africa batted out the afternoon to be 27 runs without loss at stumps.
South Africa batted slowly on the fourth morning and lost three wickets in the space of nine runs to be an uncertain 3 for 59 before recovering to 3 for 84 at lunch. Batting through the afternoon session they made very slow progress to be 5 for 157 at tea. The rains then revisited and play was abandoned for the rest of the day. On the final morning South Africa were looking for quick runs for a declaration. At 9 for 241 and a lead of 263 runs they declared just before lunch leaving Sri Lanka 68 overs to reach the target. Rhodes top scored with 54 while Muralitharan was the most successful bowler with 5 for 68 off 46 overs.
Sri Lanka lost early wickets to be 3 for 37 in their run chase for victory. The batsmen then settled down and appeared to give up any interest in seeking a win. Sri Lanka lost another wicket after tea allowing retiring national hero Arjuna Ranatunga the opportunity to bat out his final afternoon of test cricket. At Stumps, Sri Lanka were 4 for 195, 68 runs short of victory. Jayawardene top scored with 101 not out while Pollock, Hayward, Klusener and Adams shared the bowling honours taking one wicket each.
