South Africa vs Sri Lanka – One-Day International Preview & Prediction
AT A GLANCE
When is South Africa vs Sri Lanka taking place? Friday, 24th May, 10:30 (UK)
Where South Africa vs Sri Lanka taking place? Cardiff
What is the expected weather for South Africa vs Sri Lanka? 17-19c with sunshine and cloudy intervals with a small chance of rain
What channel is South Africa vs Sri Lanka on? The match will be not be shown live on UK TV
Where can I stream South Africa vs Sri Lanka? South Africa vs Sri Lanka will not be streamed live on UK TV
Are tickets still available for South Africa vs Sri Lanka? https://tickets.cricketworldcup.com/ticketingInfo.html
LAST MEETING
South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 41 runs (D/L method)
THE TEAM NEWS
SOUTH AFRICA
Captain: Faf du Plessis
- South Africa come into the their World Cup warm-up matches in fine form having beaten Sri Lanka handsomely with a 5-0 whitewash in March and having won their last five ODI series so confidence is good right now.
- They have a full strength team available for the World Cup with only Anrich Nortje being ruled out through injury although Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi have all struggled with injuries that affected their IPL participation and they will need to be carefully managed.
- They may not necessarily field their strongest line-up for this match and they may be more inclined to give some playing time to some of their fringe players for this game although they will be keen to build momentum and acclimatise to British conditions.
SRI LANKA
Captain: Dimuth Karunaratne
- Sri Lanka saw one of the first of their warm-up matches against Scotland rained off but they managed to get some time in the middle in the second ODI and hit 322/8 batting first and then won on the Duckworth/Lewis method by 35 runs to give them a boost in confidence.
- This will however be a much greater test for them as they face South Africa who beat them 5-0 in a recent ODI series in South Africa and they were completely outplayed so they are going to have to bowl and bat much better than they did in that series.
- They could name a similar team to that which beat Scotland which is in theory their strongest team for this game as they need to find some form with the likes of Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera needing time in the middle.
THE PREDICTION
Sri Lanka are one team that come into this World Cup with low expectations but they are capable of causing an upset at any moment. Their team has been in disarray in recent times but they do have some big-hitters capable of making an impact in the 50-over format. That said, their consistency is poor even within matches as they struggle to produce complete performances. That does not bode well for this match against South Africa who have a star-studded squad at their disposal. Du Plessis’ men will be motivated to make a good start to the World Cup so finding form in the warm-up matches is key and they should just have too much for Sri Lanka here.
