Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Saturday, 30 October 2021 01:58 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Champika Fernando
With one win each in the Super 12 round, Sri Lanka and South Africa will cross swords at Sharjah this afternoon, both needing to win to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
South Africa were beaten by five wickets by Australia in a low-scoring game in their opening fixture in Abu Dhabi but put on an impressive all-round effort to crush defending champions West Indies by eight wickets during the second game in Dubai.
The Lankans had four straight wins, including Bangladesh in their opening game in the Super 12 fixtures, but Australia ended their unbeaten run with a crushing seven-wicket win on Thursday.
The defeats each have put them in a tough position in the group which is headed by England and Australia in terms of wins.
While Sri Lanka and South Africa battle it out in Sharjah, unbeaten England and Australia will meet in Dubai in the second game of the day. The winner of that match will be a step closer to qualifying for the semis with two matches to go.
Following Thursday’s defeat, Sri Lanka needs to regroup soon to stop the high-riding South African side, who beat the Sri Lankan’s 3-0 in the lead up to the World Cup.
With Quinton de Kock expected to return to the side after missing their last game against West Indies in protest over Cricket South Africa’s directive to take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, their batting looks stronger.
They also have Aiden Markram, who is in sublime form with the bat and who has also created a few headaches for Sri Lankan batsmen with his part-time off-spins.
In bowling, they have an effective spin department led by Tabraiz Shamzi and includes Keshav Maharaj, while the seam department has Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Dwaine Pretorius.
Team sources confirmed Sri Lanka will go unchanged despite Thursday’s defeat having forced some soul-searching about their fragile middle order and the manner in which their “famed” bowling unit, barring Wanindu Hasaranga, were given a leather hunt.
“We couldn’t take wickets from the new ball [vs Australia] so we had to use our two spinners early to get some breakthroughs,” said skipper Dasun Shanaka referring to the game against Australia. “If our seamers hit the right areas, we could have given a far better challenge. In the previous games, all our seamers bowled well, so our combination was based on two spinners. I think we’ll stick to that for another game”.
Charith Asalanka seems to be in great shape since the start of the Super 12 tournament and it’s hoped the Southpaw will continue to lead from the front as Sri Lanka look to make a strong comeback to secure a semi-final spot. “As we have played two games before in Sharjah, we have a better understanding of the conditions there and hopefully that would be of advantage to us. I feel we are slightly ahead of the South Africa team,” an optimistic Shanaka said.South Africa: (probable) Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (capt.), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen/Reeza Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Dwaine Pretorius, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
Sri Lanka: (probable) Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana
