ICC World Cup 2019: Match 35, Sri Lanka vs South Africa – Match Preview

Sri Lanka will look to keep the winning streak going when they take on South Africa who are already out of the tournament on June 28 (Friday) at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street. It will be a must-win game for the Lankans to keep themselves alive in the ICC World Cup 2019.

Read More: ICC World Cup 2019: Suresh Raina Hails The Bowlers As India Beat West Indies In Style

Sri Lanka desperate for two points against South Africa

South Africa have had their worst campaign in the history of the World Cup. This is the second time since their debut in the World Cup in 1992; the Proteas have failed to cross the group stages. They will want to salvage their pride in the last two games and spoil the party of the other contenders. Faf du Plessis & Co will look to tick all the box and finish the tournament on a high.

Also read: ICC World Cup 2019: Virat Kohli Thanks Fans After Comprehensive Win Over West Indies

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are very much in contention for a top-four spot. The race to the semifinals have got exciting, and a win for Sri Lanka over South Africa will make it more spicy for the fans. Dimuth Karunaratne & Co, currently at the seventh spot will go up to the fifth place just after England if they manage to beat the Proteas. They played some outstanding cricket in the last game against the host and will aim to produce the same kind of effort.

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Date and Venue: Sri Lanka vs South Africa on June 28 (Friday) at 3:00 PM IST, at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street

Predicted Playing XI

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Jeevan Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Nuwan Pradeep, Lasith Malinga

South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir.

Also read: We Always Back ‘Legend’ MS Dhoni, Says Virat Kohli After Win Over West Indies

World Cup Head to Head

Statistical Preview

i) Pacer Nuwan Pradeep has taken 47 wickets in ODI career. Taking three more wickets, Pradeep will complete his 50 ODI wickets.

ii) Leg-spinner Imran Tahir has taken 61 international wickets against Sri Lanka which is the equal record of Allan Donald (61 wickets) and Dale Steyn (61 wickets). Only two former South African pacers bagged more international wickets against this Asian team than these three Proteas bowlers. Those two former pacers were Shaun Pollock (99 wickets) and Makhaya Ntini (62 wickets). Tahir has a chance to surpass Ntini and become the second most wicket-taker in this list.

iii) South African cricketer Faf du Plessis has scored 1,907 international runs against Sri Lanka. Scoring 93 more runs, he will become the second South African batsman after Jacques Kallis (2,328 runs) to score 2,000 international runs against this Asian team.

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iv) Proteas cricketer Aiden Markram has scored 1,985 runs in international cricket. The 24-year-old is 15 runs behind to complete his 2,000 runs in the international career.

Pitch Conditions

The surface is expected to be good for batting although there is usually a bit in it for the bowlers too in Durham. Last year, in the last ODI at the ground, England and Australia both scored more than 300 although how much can be read into that is moot. The pitches for this World Cup have been unlike those of the last four years in this country.

Weather Forecast

Finally, the weather forecast is not showing any rain. For this match, it’s not even showing any cloud, which means a day of sunshine and decent temperatures. It will be a perfect atmosphere to play the game of cricket and players from both the teams will look to give their best shot.

Match Prediction