With more than enough talent at their disposal, South Africa were once considered favourites for any ICC tournament. Similar was the case of Sri Lanka. who too were the heavyweights of the game. But with the passage of time, the tag of favourites has worn off. Both teams are finding themselves in the underdogs bracket at present.
In a big ‘group of death’ clash of ICC T20 World Cup, South Africa and Sri Lanka will be clashing for the fourth time in the history of World T20. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka and his men will look to get back into winning ways after suffering a defeat in their last match against Australia.
On the other hand, the Temba Bavuma-led South African brigade will look to continue their winning run after their last win against two-time T20 champions West Indies.
Sri Lanka so far had mixed results in the tournament. They walked through the qualifying stage by winning all their three games. In the Super-12 too, they won their first match against Bangladesh but were thrashed by Australia.
South Africa's scenario is no different. The Proteas directly qualified for the Super-12 stage but faced a defeat in their very first match against the Aussies. However, they found themselves back on the winning ways after defeating West Indies. In the much-awaited contest in Sharjah, Sri Lanka and South Africa will look to add two points to their tally to keep their hopes alive for the semi-finals.
Head-to-head
Sri Lanka and South Africa have squared off three times against each other in the T20 World Cups. The Proteas have emerged victorious on two occasions whereas the Lankans have only notched up one win.
Talking about the overall record, South Africa have won 11 T20 Internationals, while the 2014 champions Lanka have won only on five occasions out of the total 16 matches.
Batters to be the key
The team whose batters will play better will have an upper hand in the game. Barring the one game between Afghanistan and Scotland, Sharjah has been a tricky wicket for the batters. And the kind of inexperienced batters both teams have in their line-ups, it will be tough for both sides to score.
South Africa have experienced Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, and David Miller who have played in these wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL). A lot of South African scorecard will depend on their performance. Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks have shown some aggression in their last match too thus attributing to the batting line-up.
For Sri Lanka, Sharjah is not a new surface to play as they got their first Super-12 victory against Bangladesh at the venue. But that was a different game as the bowling attack of South Africa comprises Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Tabrez Shamsi, and to score against them will not be an easy task.
Lanka’s batter Kushal Perera and Bhanuka Rajapksa have been in good touch with the bat in their last few games while their captain Dasun Shanaka is still looking regain his form.
Spinners will be decisive
Excluding the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh contest, spinners have been able to contain the batters as the Sharjah wicket has been a bit tacky. Even pacers would resort to taking the pace off and bowl a few cutters to make batters reach for the ball and miscue it.
One can see the performances of Afghanistan spinners Mujeeb Ur Rehman and Rashid Khan to understand how crucial the spinners have been in Sharjah. South Africa have Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj while Sri Lanka have Wanindu Hasaranga, who can be a game-changer for Sri Lanka.
What’s at stake
No team can afford a loss at this moment as they have already lost one match in the past. Another loss may obscure their chances to reach the semis. After this game, South Africa have England and Bangladesh to play while Sri Lanka have England and West Indies in the line.
The next two fixtures of either one aren’t easy and no side can afford a defeat. South Africa are currently third in the group behind England and Australia while Sri Lanka are at the fourth spot. One more win will help the wither to keep hold of semi-final spot while the losing team will have to cross a lot of hurdles to secure a place in the top-4.
