T20 World Cup | Team Analysis: South Africa vs Sri Lanka

South Africa and Sri Lanka will be looking to keep their semifinals hopes alive when the two teams lock horns in match 25 of the T20 World Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Sri Lanka saw its winning run end against Australia. The team had won all three matches of Round 1 before defeating Bangladesh in their first match of the ‘Super 12’ stage. But a formidable Australian side beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets.

South Africa began their T20 World Cup journey on a disappointing note as they were beaten by Australia in their first match of the tournament. But the team bounced back well as they beat defending champions West Indies in the following match.

With both teams registering a win and a loss from their first two fixtures of the ‘Super 12’ stage, this match is crucial for them to be in contention for a semifinal berth. The team ending on the losing side would find it tough to progress to the next stage.

South Africa’s strengths:

South African skipper Temba Bavuma would be very happy with the efforts his bowlers are putting in. The pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have combined to pick 6 wickets from 2 matches. Spinner Keshav Maharaj has picked 3 wickets. Dwaine Pretorius picked 3 wickets against West Indies. And most importantly, South Africa have in their ranks the no.1 T20I ranked bowler in the world, Tabraiz Shamsi.

South Africa’s weaknesses:

Two batters in South Africa’s middle-order are going through a lean patch. David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen are finding it tough to score runs at the moment. Miller has scored only 231 runs from his last nine T20 innings averaging just 25.66. Klaasen has scored only 40 runs from his last four T20 innings, averaging only 10. Both of them did not get to bat against West Indies so there would be concerns around their form.

Sri Lanka’s strengths:

Although they did not come good against Australia, Sri Lanka does possess a formidable bowling attack. Maheesh Theekshanam, Wanindu Hasaranga and Lahiru Kumara have picked 8 wickets each. Chamika Karunaratne has claimed 4 wickets from 5 games.

Sri Lanka’s weaknesses:

Sri Lanka tend to lose wickets in Powerplay overs. Against Namibia, Ireland, Netherlands, Bangladesh and Australia have lost 3, 3, 2, 1 and 1 wicket respectively in the first six overs of the innings. Sri Lanka need to rectify this shortcoming of theirs. Early wickets tend to slow down Sri Lanka’s run rate in the Powerplay overs.

Head-to-head

Matches played: 16
South Africa wins: 11
Sri Lanka wins: 5

Form Guide

South Africa: W-L-W-W-W
Sri Lanka: L-W-W-W-W

Pitch and conditions

Before the West Indies-Bangladesh clash, four of the five matches played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium had been won by the team batting second. The average first innings total of the T20 World Cup matches at this venue is 132.8. Clearly, the pitch becomes easier for batting in the second half of the match.

The afternoon will be sunny. The temperature is expected to be around 34 degrees Celsius with the humidity level at around 35 per cent.

Team News

Quinton de Kock has apologised for defying Cricket South Africa's directive to take a knee to symbolize the protest against racial discrimination. De Kock was excluded from South Africa’s previous match as he refused to take the knee. It remains to be seen if his apology paves his way back into the team. Except for de Kock’s issue, South Africa don’t face injury concern to any of the key players.

All of Sri Lanka's players are fit.

Deccan Herald’s Dream XI

Kusal Perera, Reza Hendricks, Charith Asalanka, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Temab Bavuma (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Lahiru Kumara

Impact player for South Africa

Aiden Markram: South African batter Aiden Markram played a match-winning knock of 51* against West Indies. Markram has been in good form recently. In his last 10 T20 innings, Markram has scored one fifty and two knocks of 40s. Markram can he a handy bowler too who can slip in a few quiet overs to stem the flow of runs.

Impact player for Sri Lanka

Bhanuka Rajapaksa: The Sri Lankan batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa has been steading the ship in the middle phase of the Sri Lankan innings. He scored a quickfire 33* against Australia. Rajapaksa also scored a fifty in Sri Lanka’s successful chase against Bangladesh. Rajapaksa is important for Sri Lanka if they need to win this match.

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