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Sri Lanka vs South Africa Match Prediction: Pitch Report, Key Battles, Who will win today’s Sri Lanka vs South Africa warm-up match | Cricket World Cup 2019

Dixit Bhargav
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Sri Lanka vs South Africa Match Prediction

Sri Lanka vs South Africa Match Prediction: The Sportsrush presents before you the Match Prediction of warm-up match between SL and SA.

Before the league stage of the looming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Sri Lanka and South Africa will get another chance to face each other. Set to play South Africa in the league stage, Sri Lanka will be looking to make amends against the Proteas.

As recent as a couple of months ago, South Africa had whitewashed Sri Lanka 5-0 at home. The Test series of the same tour provoked the Sri Lankan board to announce Test opener Dimuth Karunaratne as the leader of the ODI side.

Having named a new captain right before the biggest tournament in cricket, Sri Lanka have a lot of questions to answer. Other than ‘Karunaratne – The Captain’, they will also have to adjust to ‘Karunaratne – The Batsman’ in the ODI format.

Therefore, the island nation will be looking to make the most of the encounter tomorrow.

Sri Lanka vs South Africa – Pitch Report

The Sophia Gardens in Cardiff will host both the overseas teams in the second warm-up fixture. Given how well teams have batted in England in the recent years, Sophia Gardens will offer a slightly different track on display.

In the last 10 innings on the pitch, scores of 300+ have been registered on three occasions. While the number is no paltry figure, other scores of 223, 265/8, 268/5, 236, 237/7, 211 and 215/2 speak of the otherwise. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that there are less chances of teams posting total in excess of 300.

Sri Lanka vs South Africa – Key Battles

Dimuth Karunaratne vs Kagiso Rabada

As mentioned above, Karunaratne will doubtlessly allure plentiful eyeballs. Having played a solitary match since ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the 31-year old left-handed batsman will face a stern test against the pace and swing of Kagiso Rabda.

While Karunaratne possesses the skill to counter Rabada, scoring brisk runs according to the demand of ODI matches could see him attempting a shot too many against one of the contemporary premier fast bowlers.

ALSO READ: Preview | Pakistan vs Afghanistan | ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Warm-up Matches

Lasith Malinga vs David Miller

There is no hiding to the most likely possibility of David Miller facing Lasith Malinga during the death overs of the South African innings. Having played 120 ODIs, Miller unequivocally is a senior member of the Proteas’ unit. In a bid to delivery for his team in crunch situations, the southpaw will have to counter the experience of Malinga in the slog overs.

While Malinga leaked runs at 9.76 runs in the recently concluded Indian Premier League, Miller was out-of-sorts throughout the season. Both the players will be desperate to fine-tune their skills ahead of the league stage.

Sri Lanka vs South Africa – What numbers suggest?

In the 76 matches which Sri Lanka and South Africa have played against each other, Sri Lanka have won 31 matches as compared to South Africa’s 43 matches. Talking of neutral venues, South Africa have an 11-8 lead over Sri Lanka in the 19 matches.

Both teams have played five matches in ICC Cricket World Cup. Out of which South Africa have won three as compared to Sri Lanka’s solo victory.

Sri Lanka vs South Africa – Match Prediction

Taking into consideration South Africa defeating Sri Lanka 5-0 earlier this year, comprising of a better captain and an in-form squad, we predict the Proteas to defeat Sri Lanka in the second warm-up match tomorrow.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Dixit Bhargav

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Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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