South Africa and Sri Lanka aim to avoid second slip-up
After a T20I series earlier in the year, Sri Lanka and South Africa meet as familiar foes in Sharjah, where spin could reign supreme.
Travelling to Sri Lanka in September, South Africa enjoyed conditions in Colombo, emphatically winning all three matches. Defending 163 in the first match, Temba Bavuma's men went on to win the next two matches by nine and ten wickets respectively.
Wedged in a tricky Group 1, the two teams met similar fates at the hands of Australia, but have a Super 12 victory each thus far, with South Africa brushing aside the West Indies and Sri Lanka overcoming Bangladesh.
Having entered the tournament through Group A of the First Round, Sri Lanka have proved many of their doubters wrong, with their defeat to Australia the only blemish across five matches. The team under Dasun Shanaka and Mickey Arthur have continuity, playing in a flowing fashion, a far cry from the series leading up to the tournament.
On the other side, South Africa, in spite of all the headlines off the field, mustered a winning performance on Tuesday, chasing a target of 144 set by the defending champions. Reeza Hendricks opened the innings with a confident 39 (30) coming in for the absent Quinton de Kock, with Rassie van der Dussen (43* from 51 balls) and Aiden Markram (51* from 26 balls) making light work of the task.
Fixture Details
- The Match: South Africa v Sri Lanka, Match 25
- Time: 14:00 Saturday 30 October
- Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Since South Africa's last match match, opener and wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock has declared his availability for the fixture, should he be considered.
Possible South Africa XI: Quinton de Kock/Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
For Dasun Shanaka, his Sri Lankan side has a clean bill of health for the fixture, with spinner Maheesh Theekshana returning in their defeat to Australia.
Possible Sri Lanka XI: Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana
Aiden Markram
Blasting a half-century in the last match, Aiden Markram has found a groove at No.4 in the batting order, having moved from an opening role. Strong around the ground and building a skill-set against slow bowling, Markram is rounding a solid batting game to adapt to all conditions, and looked the goods with a score of 48 (33) against the Sri Lankans back in September.
Markram's off-spin may also be deployed, potentially in the Powerplay to give Temba Bavuma wiggle room with his bowling plans.
Wanindu Hasaranga
Wickets were hard to come by for Sri Lanka during the home T20I series against South Africa, though Wanindu Hasaranga had the most about him, taking three wickets at an economy of 6.66.
With the bat, Hasaranga had a disappointing series against the Proteas, though a strong performance in Sharjah could tilt the encounter in his team's favour.
Captaincy Pick - Wanindu Hasaranga
The Sri Lanka all-rounder is one of the top captaincy picks for this match, and is someone you can’t miss in your fantasy team. He has been Mr. Consistent for Sri Lanka across formats in the last couple of years. In the World Cup so far, he has proven to be the same, having scored 81 runs and taken eight wickets in five matches played so far.
Must-have - Aiden Markram
Aiden Markram is coming into the match against Sri Lanka on the back of knocks of 40 & 51* in South Africa's opening two games in the T20 World Cup. The middle-order batter has to be a must-have in your fantasy team given his impressive record in the format in 2021, where he has scored 499 runs at an average of 45.3 in 13 innings.
Having lost a match in their Super 12 campaigns already, the teams sit precariously in the middle of the group, knowing that a win will be needed to remain in touching distance with Australia and England, who also meet today.
A defeat will mean a mountain to climb on the quest for a semi-final spot, and a result depleting the net run rate, particularly for Sri Lanka, could almost spell the end of the campaign.
Sri Lanka captain, Dasun Shanaka on experiences in Sharjah: "To be honest we have to assess the conditions first. Hopefully playing two games there have a favour in our side so we can read the wickets really well, so I feel we are slightly ahead of South Africa team."
"You know, the Sharjah wicket is always two-paced, so even in the last game West Indies and Bangladesh we saw that ball is going up and down."
South African Spinner, Keshav Maharajon the mood and balance of the team: "I think it showed the character of the team in the previous game. We know what's at stake in this World Cup, so we are leaving everything behind us when we step over that rope."
"Yeah, I think the good thing about our team is that most batters can bat in various positions, which gives us the depth that we need when having a lot of top order batters."