Durban (South Africa), : South Africa’s injury concerns deepened further after young gun Gerald Coetzee suffered a groin strain on Day 4 of the opening test against Sri Lanka in Durban, according to the ICC.

South Africa celebrated a thumping 233-run victory over Sri Lanka in the opening Test on Saturday and moved up to second place in the World Test Championship rankings.

But the Proteas’ victory was marred by injuries. Coetzee’s latest defeat came after all-rounder Wiaan Mulder was ruled out of the Test series after breaking his right middle finger during the Test.

South Africa Test captain Temba Bavuma addressed the injury concerns and said, as quoted by the ICC: “Wiaan is out of the series (and) we need to find a replacement. The medical team (for Gerald Coetzee) has to do the best they can.”

Mulder was hit in the lower hand while batting in the first inning. He was taken for subsequent scans which confirmed the fracture. He remained unbeaten with 9 points and did not take the field for the rest of the match.

Matthew Breetzke, who recently made his debut for South Africa against Bangladesh, was named as the replacement for the second and final Test of the series.

In South Africa’s opening Test victory, Marco Jansen was the standout performer for the home side, posting outstanding match figures of 11/86. He was named Player of the Match for his impressive performance.

South Africa kept their hopes of a place in next year’s World Test Championship final in England alive with a dominant performance.

South Africa won five of nine matches and lost three, leaving Australia behind with 59.26 percent points and placed second.

The Proteas are behind India at the top with a points percentage of 61.11 per cent with nine wins and five losses from 15 matches.

However, the outlook for the table may change if India take on Australia in the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Adelaide on Friday.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.