Head-to-head in T20I
The battle between these two teams is entirely one-sided, and in recent times it has tilted more to the Proteas side. And with 11 wins out of the 16 games having South Africa’s name, it’s pretty clear who will be looking to better the record here. Speaking about the World Cup campaigns of both the teams, both have faced their maiden defeat of the tournament against Australia and are looking to make their way to the top two. Currently, South Africa is in third place, while Sri Lanka sits in fourth place in Group 1.
Players to watch out
South Africa
Even though Faf Du Plessis has missed out on his spot in this tournament, it looks like Aiden Markram has taken charge of the batting department, fulfilling Faf’s role. His unbeaten effort of 51 against the West Indies saw Proteas sailing through the challenge. And with the return of Quinton De Kock to the squad after the fiasco, which shall not be spoken again, the South African side will be fiercer than ever.
For the bowling department, it looks like Anrich Nortje is single-handedly giving migraines to the batters with his pace. With an economy of 4.37 on these spin-favoring pitches, Nortje is very well cashing on his IPL experience. We might also see world no.1 bowler Shamsi giving hell to Sri Lankans.
Sri Lanka
One won’t even be able to tell that Charith Asalanka has not even played ten international matches the way he has maturely taken the bowlers in UAE. With an impeccable batting average of 60 in this tournament so far, Sri Lankans have found one more weapon to fight back.
Talking of weapons, Sri Lankans will again need the services of Wanindu Hasaranga’s deceptive and clinical spells. Overall in this World Cup, he has scored 81 runs and has also picked up eight wickets.
What to expect
Any of these two will be happy to bat first, considering that it’s been a mammoth task to chase down 150 on this Sharjah wicket. With a spin-favoring pitch throughout, we might see another low-scoring tussle that has become the norm of this world cup so far.
Both the teams have tasted defeat early in this tournament and know that each game is a do-or-die match. And seeing how close the point difference is, the winner of today’s game will surely shake up the equation of Group 1.
Probable Playing XIs
South Africa
Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
Sri Lanka
Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera (wk), Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dasun Shanaka (c), Chamika Karunaratne, Dusmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana