Can Sri Lanka reverse horrendous record against South Africa?

Rex Clementine
in New York

South Africa themselves have a horrendous record at ICC events. To think that Sri Lanka have not beaten them in an ICC competition is outrageous. Since beating them in the 2014 T-20 World Cup in Bangladesh, where Sri Lanka were crowned champions, these teams have met six times in ICC hosted events and all those games have been won by South Africa.

That includes three 50 over World Cup games (2015, 2019 and 2023), two T-20 World Cup matches (2016 and 2021) and one Champions Trophy game (2017).

This Sri Lankan side will try to reverse that trend. It will be a tough ask though. South Africa is a seasoned side with several of their players having a good run in the IPL. On paper, the Proteas are the stronger side. But stranger things have happened in cricket.

Sri Lanka will be glad that the high-pressure game is done and dusted at the start of the competition itself. Even if they lose the game, they can still go to second round with wins overs Bangladesh, Nepal and Netherlands. Wanindu Hasaranga’s side should cruise past those opponents.

Sri Lanka will be buoyed by the fact that their captain Wanindu Hasaranga has been rated number one all-rounder in the world. He has had a good outing this year with the bat since promoting himself as a ‘floater’ Most of that success came against spin and it will be interesting to see how he will go against a side that’s strong on pace.

Sri Lanka’s bowling is their strength and they have done well to contain sides in this format of the game where big runs is the order of the day. It’s their batting that has been a concern.

However, there have been good signs. Kusal Mendis was Player of the Series in Sri Lanka’s last T-20 win while Pathum Nissanka has had an excellent start to the year. Kamindu Mendis nearly won a game singlehandedly in Dambulla while Sadeera Samarawickrama posted both his half-centuries in T-20s this year. Charith Asalanka has been involved in several rescue acts and the batting woes have been addressed adequately.

After the opening game, Sri Lanka will travel to Dallas to take on Bangladesh followed by their third game in Miami against Nepal. Their final Group ‘D’ match is against Netherlands in St. Lucia.