Daijiworld Media Network
Chittagong, Mar 22: Hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen. Sri Lanka are amongst the most balanced sides in the World T20 Championship alongside Australia and West Indies. Kusal Perera, treading the Jayasuriya route, possesses the arsenal to fire flying starts. Mahela and Sanga (in their farewell T20I tournament) are the lynchpins, whilst Mathews and Thisara adept at finishing an innings. Summon Malinga for the pin-point yorkers and let the spinners asphyxiate the opposition. Sri Lanka's only cause for worry has been the indifferent form of Dilshan.
Chandimal's men will be up against a South African unit, hit by injuries. Captain Faf du Plessis and bowling spearhead, Dale Steyn are iffy starters with both suffering hamstring injuries. Albie Morkel, who brings with him a wealth of T20 experience returns to the team. Leggie, Imran Tahir will be assisted by JP Duminy in the spin department.
Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to bat
AB de Villiers is captaining South Africa.
Chandimal: 'We have done well in the last few games. The spinners and Malinga have done well. We will bat first. There will be some purchase for the spinners later on and that's why we are batting. Thirimanne, Rangana, Suranga and Seekkuge miss out unfortunately.'
de Villiers: 'We will miss our captain du Plessis today. Well, injuries are part of this game. Good to see some grass on the wicket, hopefully we will make early inroads. I wasn't sure what to do but now we will look to bat well now and put them under pressure. Dale Steyn is fit to play.'
Duminy: 'It has been going well of late, particularly in this format. I have an opportunity to contribute in all facets. It is not all that different, apart from that 5-10% tweak. At the end of the day, you have to assess the conditions first. The wickets here assist the spinners. Sri Lanka have some key match-winners, we will have to assess the conditions quickly. I have not been to Bangladesh in a few years, it is always exciting to play in the subcontinent.'
Pitch Report: 'There has been some swing on offer for the seamers in Chittagong. We haven't seen spinners get much of a purchase here. The wicket looks nice and hard. There is a bit of grass on it as well, but I think, this will be a really good T20 wicket,' reckons Shaun Pollock.
Early wins will ensure smooth progress into the final four. Who will come up trumps today? The toss is imminent.
Teams:
South Africa (Playing XI): Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock(w), Jean-Paul Duminy, AB de Villiers(c), David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Albie Morkel, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Imran Tahir
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Kushal Janith Perera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara(w), Dinesh Chandimal(c), Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga
Live Cricket ScoreInjury-plagued South Africa will face a stiff task when they take on Sri Lanka in their opening game of the T20 WC at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. The Proteas, who may find themselves without the services of T20I skipper Faf du Plessis and pace-spearhead Dale Steyn, will need the rest of the line-up to make up for the absence of these two key players. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will be going into the game with a lot of confidence, having been in the country for the past two months and remaining unbeaten in all three formats.
Previous meetings:
South Africa have played Sri Lanka only once before in the T20 WC. This encounter, a rain-curtailed one, was in the previous edition in Sri Lanka which the Proteas won by 32 runs. Overall, South Africa have played 4 T20Is against Sri Lanka and have won 3 and lost one.
South Africa:
The South African batting order was made to sweat by the Bangladesh A team in the warm-up match before the African side emerged victorious. The top-order, consisting of Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers, failed with the bat before the efforts of JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien and Albie Morkel bailed them out of trouble. Against Pakistan, Amla and de Kock got off to a good start in a low chase before de Villiers and David Miller got an opportunity to spend some time in the middle. The South Africans have a strong batting order to make up for the absence of du Plessis. What they will be hoping for is a strong showing from the lot and some application against the testing Lankan spin bowlers.
The bowlers were good in both the warm-up games with the likes of Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Beuran Hendricks and Wayne Parnell coming up with fine performances. In Steyn's absence, Morne Morkel will have to lead the pace-attack and South Africa will be hoping that he delivers for them while they will also be expecting the rest of the quicks to complement Morkel. In the spin department, Imran Tahir will be expected to come to the party on turn-friendly tracks in Bangladesh while JP Duminy will also have to pitch in.
Sri Lanka:
The Lankans have not lost a single international game since setting foot on Bangladeshi soil in January. They won the Test series, the ODI series and the T20I series against the hosts convincingly, before emerging victorious in the Asia Cup. Apart from the warm-up game against West Indies, which they lost, Sri Lanka have not done much wrong. They have a powerful batting line-up with the presence of the big 3 - Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene - while Kusal Perera and skipper Dinesh Chandimal are also capable batsmen. In Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, the Lankans have quality all-rounders who give depth to the batting order. Sri Lanka will be hoping for a solid performance from the batsmen against a quality South African pace-attack.
Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara will be the key pacemen in the Sri Lankan attack while skipper Chandimal will also be hoping for Mathews and Perera to support them. Malinga has been in good form of late and the Lankans will be hoping that he continues in the same vein during the T20 WC. Kulasekara went for a few runs in both the warm-up matches. However, he is a quality bowler who knows what needs to be done, and Sri Lanka will be banking on him for timely strikes. The Chandimal-led side's will expect the spinners to do most of the damage. Ajantha Mendis will be the leader of the spin attack while Sachitra Senanayake will be expected to deliver as well. Dilshan is the other spin option Sri Lanka can go for.
Team News:
Du Plessis and Steyn are struggling with hamstring niggles and may not play in this game. In case the regular skipper misses out, de Villiers will lead the South African team while Behardien is likely to be included in the eleven. Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe are a certainty in the side while it is likely to be a toss up between Parnell and Hendricks for the third seamer's spot. As far as the Sri Lankan eleven is concerned, they are likely to go in with the same tried and tested line-up that they have opted for in recent times.
Pitch and conditions:
The ball comes on nicely to the bat on the Chittagong track while there is also something in it for the pacers. The spinners may find it difficult, particularly in the second innings as the dew factor might come into play.
Watch out for:
David Miller - The left-hander is renowned for his big hitting capabilities and will have a big role to play in the South African batting order. Having been used to subcontinent conditions while playing in the T20-League, Miller's experience on spin-friendly tracks will be very useful for the Proteas.