'Its been a year since we've won, so it feels good' - Quinton de Kock on South Africa's win over Sri Lanka
South Africa captain Quinton de Kock is pleased with the way his side bounced back to win the first Test against Sri Lanka after conceding 396 runs in the first innings.
The hosts wrapped up an innings win on day four of the first Test on Tuesday, and De Kock feels that his team showed great character to seal the victory.
"It's been a year since we've won one so it feels good at this moment. On day one we were a bit disappointed with our bowling performance, but we came back really nicely towards the end of our bowling spell. We then came out with the bat and showed some great character. Coming into the third innings, the boys came out with great intent with the ball and to finish off the way we did, it's very pleasing," De Kock said.
South Africa responded to Sri Lanka's total by scoring 621 runs in their first innings. Faf du Plessis scored a career-best 199, showing that he is still capable of getting the job done.
The bowlers then finished the job by knocking Sri Lanka over for just 180 runs in their second innings.
Sri Lanka find positives despite heavy defeat
Sri Lanka's hopes of winning the Test match were dented as a result of injuries suffered by a number of their key players. First, Dhananjaya de Silva went down while batting in the first innings. He was joined on the sidelines by Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha later.
South Africa took full advantage of their injury woes by batting long and smart. Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne hinted after the game that they will be forced into making some big changes for the second Test match.
Karunaratne also claimed that Sri Lanka can take many positives from the game, despite losing the match.
"As a batting unit, I'm really happy. We suddenly lost our main fast bowlers and Dhananjaya. We lost a couple of members of the squad but we have already a couple of youngsters. I hope they'll do the job in the second Test.
"We were in the driver's seat. We batted really well and we need to keep that momentum and a positive mindset when we go to Wanderers. We're not worried about the injuries, we have plenty of players, and we'll try to take the positives from here," Dimuth Karunaratne said.
The second Test match is set to take place in Johannesburg from January 03, 2021.