South Africa vs Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20 2014, 14th Match Group 1, Chittagong WATCH OUT FOR : When South Africa beat Sri Lanka in T20 series in their own backyard last August JP Duminy was the leading run-scorer. He amassed 132 runs in the three matches and scored two half-centuries. Duminys promise with the bat is well-known and he is starting to fulfill it as expected but he has since developed another aspect of his game as well. Although referred to as nothing more than a part-time bowler, Duminy made a reputation for being a partnership breaker with the ball. With scalps in the warm-ups, he has proved he can be a threat in these conditions as well and his all-round ability will be what South Africa banks on in this tournament. With Duminy making headlines as only a secondary spinner, its hardly a surprise that Sri Lankas tweakers will be the players to keep an eye on. The talk leading up to this tournament has been mostly about turn, especially where a side like South Africa is concerned. Despite having astute players of spin like Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers in their side, South Africa are perceived to struggle in the subcontinent and their ODI series defeat to Sri Lanka last year did not help that. The opening match may well be decided on who wins the battle between Sri Lankas spinners and South Africas batsmen. TEAM NEWS : South Africa are sweating over the fitness of their captain Faf du Plessis and their pace spearhead, Dale Steyn, both of whom are carrying hamstring injuries. They will have fitness tests on the morning of the game but it seems unlikely du Plessis will play. He batted in the nets the day before the match but running was a problem. If he misses out, AB de Villiers will lead in his absence and Farhaan Behardien will bat up the order. Steyn has been bowling in practice but South Africa may not to risk him if he is not 100%. That will leave their attack with two left-armers in Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Wayne Parnell (or Beuran Hendricks as an outside chance), one specialist spinner in Imran Tahir and Duminy as an additional option. SOUTH AFRICA: 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis/Farhaan Behardien, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Wayne Parnell/Dale Steyn 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Lonwabo Tsotsobe, 11 Imran Tahir Sri Lanka will likely to stick to a familiar XI which will see Kusal Perera open with Tillakaratne Dilshan and a four-seam, two frontline spin attack. The only uncertainty is whether they will opt for Ajantha Mendis or Rangana Herath. Both bowled in Sri Lankas defence of 153 against India and while Mendis took a wicket, Herath was more economical. SRI LANKA: 1 Kusal Perera, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Mahela Jayawardene, 4 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 5 Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Sachitra Senanayake, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Ajantha Mendis/Rangana Herath PITCH AND CONDITIONS : Before South Africa left Dhaka on Thursday, one of the first things Russell Domingo said they would be aware of was that conditions in Chittagong would be different so adapting would be key. He was right. A grassy track, which promises to be quicker than initially thought, greeted the teams which could mean less of a spin factor first up. There is also expected to less chance of dew because the match is being played in the afternoon. Clear skies are forecast with temperatures between 26 and 30 degrees. STATS AND TRIVIA : South Africa and Sri Lanka have only played four T20 matches against each other, all in Sri Lanka. The first was at the World T20 in 2012. That fixture was reduced to seven overs a side and South Africa won by 32 runs. South Africa also won two of the other three matches. Jayawardene is second on the all-time list of T20 run-scorers and Sangakkara is fourth. Its unlikely either will catch Brendon McCullum before they retire. Jayawardene is 624 runs behind and Sangakkara 648 runs off the pace.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 08:38:43 +0000