The fourth match of the tournament will be of Group D between Sri Lanka (SL) and South Africa (SA). The match will be live at 8:00 P.M. (IST) and 10:30 A.M. (local).
Teams Analysis
Sri Lanka (SL):
The 2014 champion is having a strong lineup this season and they will definitely head towards a clean victory. Under the leadership of the new skipper, this will be interesting to see how they will perform in this T20 World Cup.
Wanindu Hasaranga, will lead the team for the first time in this tournament. He has a great record in the shortest format of cricket and can contribute in both departments well. He is a well specialised bowler where he grabbed 84 wickets. With the bat, he came lower down the order but has been providing some valuable runs there also. He has four half-centuries to his name and has scored 650 runs.
Charith Asalanka will be the deputy of the team. He is known for his hard hitting in the middle overs and can easily accelerate the innings well. In 44 innings, he got five half-centuries to his name and is close to 1000 (990) runs in this format. But in the last few innings he was unable to contribute well with the bat. The keeper of the team, Kusal Mendis, is well known for his hard hitting skills. He has been consistent with the runs provided to the team and has scored 14 half-centuries till now. He has a strike rate of 135.72.
Pathum Nissanka, the opener of the team has already shown consistency in the ODI World Cup where he scored regular runs towards the end for the team. In 47 innings, he got 10 half-centuries and scored 1231 runs. The most experienced player, Angelo Mathews, will be seen participating in this format for the team for a very long time. He is known for maintaining stability in the middle order and has scored 6 half-centuries till now and has a strike rate of 120.35.
Dasun Shanaka, the previous leader of this team has been fantastic in both the departments. He has been excellent with the bat and scored 5 half-centuries and got 1444 runs under his credit. He has 31 wickets to his name. His experience in this format will definitely help. Dunith Wellage, hasn’t played any international T20 match but his excellent performance in the ODIs got him the place. He performed brilliantly in the Asia Cup and has contributed well in both the departments.
Dilshan Madushanka, was team’s leading wicket-taker in the 2023 ODI World Cup and this performance is expected by the same. He is a serious threat to the batters in the death overs. He has taken 14 wickets till now. On the other hand, Matheesha Pathirana, is a constant wicket-taker for the team and took wickets in almost all the matches. Though he didn’t play many T20 matches, his excellent performance in the other league matches will be a threat to the batters.
Maheesh Theekshana, is team’s leading wicket-taker currently in the spin department. Not only this he can also contribute runs in lower down the order. He has taken 44 wickets till now with an economy of 6.72.
Probable Playing 11 of Sri Lanka (SL):
Wanindu Hasaranga ©, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellage, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana.
South Africa (SA):
Despite having a huge match winners they are yet to register a trophy to their name. Their batting and bowling has been brilliant in both the departments. But still they mostly got choked in the Semi Final match mostly. This time they have a strong batting unit in this tournament and are one of the strong contenders for the trophy.
The team will be led by Aiden Markram. He has been the leader for a long time and carries huge experience in this department. His strike rate is 150.67 and can be explosive in the middle order. But recently in the Indian Premier League (IPL) he was struggling to get some runs with the bat, which might reflect in the tournament.
The wicket-keeper batter, Quinton de Kock, will play his last international T20 tournament and after this he will retire from the shortest format. He played many leagues all over the world and in international also he carried huge experience. He has scored one century and 14 half-centuries to his name. He has managed 2341 runs till now. Reeza Hendricks, might be seen opening the team’s innings along with de Kock. He is known for hard hitting from the beginning and has scored 1829 runs in 58 innings. He got past 50+, 15 times.
David Miller and Tristan Stubbs might be the finishers for the team. Both of them have a huge reputation of powerful hitting in the death overs. Miller has a strike rate of 144.55 while Stubbs has the strike rate of 155.19. A great threat to the bowlers and both of them played brilliantly in the IPL recently.
Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen both of them have the ability to contribute in both the departments. They basically contribute in the bowling departments but in the death overs they have the ability to play hard. Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada both are the fierce pacers in the starting as well as in the death overs. They can use their pace with short balls very well. Tabraiz Shamsi, is the leader in the spin department and might get some help from the pitch.
Probable Playing 11 of South Africa (SA):
Aiden Markram ©, Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Heinricks, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje.
Pitch Report for the match between Sri Lanka (SL) and South Africa (SA):
The match will be played at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, USA. There hasn’t been much cricket match here but it is expected to be a little batting friendly as easy runs can be scored here easily. While the pacers might get some assistants as it will have little bounce on the pitch. The boundary length will vary from 60 to 80m.
Weather Report:
The weather will be a partial cloud with a 20% chance of rain. Still it is expected that the full match might be seen. The temperature will be close to 28 degree celsius during daytime while it will go down to 17 degree celsius at night. Humidity will be a little high as it is expected to be above 50%.
Best 11 for the match between Sri Lanka (SL) and South Africa (SA):
Quinton de Kock, Kusal Mendis, Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Aiden Markram, Wanindu Hasaranga, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Matheesha Pathirana.