The fourth match of the T20 World Cup will be played between Sri Lanka and South Africa. The game will be played on 3rd of June at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.
Sri Lanka will be brimming with confidence as they vanquished Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the recent T20i series. However, the warm-up games brought mixed fortune for the side as they lost to Netherlands by 20 odd runs.
On the other hand, South Africa will try their best to bounce back from the heart-thrashing defeat by the co-host side, West Indies. Since, the main players were rested during the series, their comeback to the side will boost South Africa’s confidence and of course, the head-to-head record as well.
Team overview:
Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka will be hoping their bowling unit will light-up the Nassau stadium, as they have a potent bowling unit as Wanindu Hasranga is one of the topspinners in the T20 cricket right now, ranking 2nd in the ICC T20I bowling rankings for men.
Since he missed out on the ODI World Cup 2023 and the IPL, he would be thumping up to mark his comeback, in a style. And do not forget, Hasranga is someone who can swing the bat too, particularly stronger at the leg-side.
Besides Hasranga, Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana will also play crucial roles as their economical and dangerous bowling can trouble the South African batters.
Particularly, Pathirana was on song in this IPL season for Chennai Super Kings. The pacer went on to take 13 wickets in the competition at an economy rate of 7.68.
The batting unit of the Lions can cause them a bit of trouble. As they lack power-hitting abilities. Nevertheless, they will hope Asalanka and Mendis duo, Kusal and Kamindu to turn up the fortune of the batting side.
South Africa:
Having lost a recent series against West Indies might have dent the confidence, but South Africa comprises the batting attack that can smash any sort of bowling attack.
The top-order of Africa contains the likes of Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, and Heinrich Klaasen.
Speaking of Klaasen, he clobbered 479 runs at a strike rate of 171 for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
The Proteas will also hope that Kagiso Rabada turns up at his best as his experience and magical bowling will help the side to keep Sri Lanka’s batters at bay.
Although Rabada had a middling IPL, as he took only two wickets in his last five outings for the Punjab Kings, the experienced bowler would be hankering for a stronger comeback.
Pitch and weather report:
Well, the good news is rain is less likely to disturb this interesting encounter and bad news is it is a turf the fielders would not want to dive for.
The pitch is slow and the ball does not come easily on bat, hence, more suitable for the bowlers.
Head-to-Head:
Both of the sides have encountered each other in 17 T20is thus far, with South Africa holding the upper hand, having won 11 games, while Sri Lanka stood successful in 5 matches.
Predictions:
Since the start of the 2023, South Africa have lost 9 out of 11 T20is, while Sri Lanka won the recent series, but against Bangladesh, and the side were missing their main players, Afghanistan minus Rashid Khan, and Zimbabwe who is not the part of the T20 World Cup.
Nevertheless, South Africa is expected to continue their dominance over the Lions, as they are favourite to win this clash.
Where to watch:
Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming), Tamasha app (Live streaming), Tapmad (live streaming)
India – Star Sports
England – SkySport Network
USA and Canada (Willow TV)
Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
UK & Northern Ireland – Sky Sports
Sri Lanka – Maharaja TV
Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
