A victory against depleted South Africa cricket team will help the Sri Lankan cricket team to keep their semi-final hopes alive.  Sri Lanka has got magic turnaround as their senior players Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga raised their bars and are peaking at right time. They need to win every match in order to make it into the semi-final and they will definitely aim for a victory against South Africa side as both teams are facing against each other riverside Durham. With two points will help the Lankans find a spot just below England and another win from there will help them to find a place in the top four. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera in sublime and they got the right support from Angelo Mathews in last game. So with Angelo Mathews finding form at right time team looks more balanced now. They can beat any team on their given day.

South Africa on another hand they are out of the tournament and has got only one win so far. As their captain insisted they will play the fearless brand of cricket to retain the pride and give some future hopes to budding cricketers in the country and for their fans. Despite paltry performance from all departments their pace bowling unit still got all firepower to dismantle any batting unit. So we can expect an interesting contest between bat and ball.

Team statistics:

Both the teams have met against each other in 5 occasions and Sri Lanka is taking the upper hand with three wins thanks to their strong performance in ICC tournaments so far. South Africa have won twice one at 1999 world cup thanks to Lance Klausner’s all-round show and they have won against Sri Lanka in last world cup 2015. If both the teams have played up to their potential the match will be a treat for the cricketing fans. With no signs of rain, we can expect a flat pitch and can assist spinners in the later part of the innings.

Expected playing XI:

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne(c), Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep.

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (C), Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir.

Players to watch out for:

Sri Lanka:

Kusal Perera:

Swashbuckling opener Kusal Perera is in red hot form these days and he has got all the abilities to destroy any kind of bowling attack on his given day. Already three half-centuries to his name Sri Lanka will hope for a strong performance from him that will help them to escape of Rabada’s new-ball burst.  If he can able to score big then it will increase Sri Lanka’s chances

Lasith Malinga:

Age is just a number for Lasith Malinga as he continues to rock the international cricketing arena with his strong performance. He has become more skillful bowler now and if he can continue the same form he can dismantle the depleting south African batting order which also helps them to seal the semi-final berth.

Quinton de cock:

Quinto de cock has got the promising starts so far in the tournament but failed to convert them into big ones. With no semi-final hopes, he can play his own game which will help him to score big and eventually South Africa is looking for a strong performance from him that will help them to salvage some pride.

Kagiso Rabada:

How many times we can see the frustrated Rabada even though he has given 100% to his team. He lacks support from another end which is a major point of concern. He will look  to continue the same performance that will help his team to emerge victoriously and deny Sri Lanka’s hopes of  sealing semi-final berth

Sri Lankans are peaking at right time and if they play up to their potential they can emerge as a victorious team today.