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After a hard-fought One-Day series between Sri Lanka and South Africa, the two teams will now go head to head in the three-match T20I series. The first match of the series will take place at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on September 10.
The Proteas have a pretty good unit in T20s. After missing the ODI series, their three key players – Quinton de Kock, David Miller and Lungi Ngidi will be available for the T20I leg of the tour.
South Africa have had a mixed year in the shortest format. They lost both home and away series against Pakistan 1-2 earlier this year but then had a terrific result in the Caribbean, beating a full-strength West Indies team by 3-2. They followed it up with a 3-0 thrashing of Ireland.
Sri Lanka haven’t been in good space for the last year or so, facing constant chopping and changing of the players and captains. They finally seem to have found some stability in the last month. This year, SL lost a series against the West Indies 1-2, followed by a 0-3 blanking at the hands of England. The Lankan Lions made a comeback to beat the Indian side by 2-1.
This series offers Sri Lanka a chance to prepare themselves for the round 1 of the ICC T20 World Cup in October, where they will have to compete with three other teams to qualify for the Super 12 stage. South Africa will also have an opportunity to get accustomed to the low, spin-friendly tracks that are likely to be on offer in the UAE as well.
Key Players
Quinton de Kock has done extremely well in T20s for South Africa and in the leagues around the world. The 28-year-old old batter has amassed 6749 runs in T20 cricket, averaging 33.74 and striking at 139.24, including four centuries and 41 half centuries. In international T20s, he has 1605 runs at a similar average and strike rate. Quinton was excellent in the recent The Hundred tournament, where he scored 202 runs at an average of 33.7 while striking at an outstanding rate of 172.6.
Wanindu Hasaranga is on his way to achieving superstar status in world cricket, and rightly so. The 24-year-old Sri Lankan does quality leg-break bowling and has huge potential as a spin power-hitter. Hasaranga has 80 wickets in T20 cricket at an economy of 6.37, with best figures of 5/26.
In international T20s, he has picked 33 scalps in 20 innings at 6.56 rpo. Wanindu was the ‘Player of the series’ against India, where he picked seven wickets in three games, including 4/9. Hasaranga will be a key player for the hosts in the T20I series opener.
Tabraiz Shamsi has seen an incredible rise in world cricket in recent years. The left-arm wrist spinner has developed into a terrific strike bowler in limited overs cricket and has done well around the world. He has 183 scalps in T20 cricket while conceding runs at 7.18 rpo. In international T20s, Shamsi has taken 45 wickets in 39 innings at an economy of 6.80.
This year, Shamsi has been in magnificent form, picking 24 wickets in 14 T20Is at an astonishing average of 12.20 and an economy of 5.32, including best figures of 4/25. He also picked 5/49 in the second ODI against SL and will play a key role in this match.
Akila Dananjaya burst onto the scene as an unorthodox spinner with immense potential. While he hasn’t lived up to it, Akila has done a decent job for Sri Lanka. Dananjaya has 98 wickets in overall T20 cricket at an economy of 7.44 with best bowling figures of 4/17. On tracks that assist spin and against a spin vulnerable batting unit of South Africa, Akila Dananjaya could have a huge role to play.
Prediction
Historically, South Africa and Sri Lanka have had a pretty closely fought rivalry, with SA winning seven games and SL having five victories. But the two teams haven’t faced each other in T20s for more than two years and have new-look sides.
The visitors have a very solid batting unit with Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen. They have a top-class bowling attack consisting of Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Anrich Nortje.
Sri Lanka does not have much firepower in their batting unit and will have to rely on the bowling attack to win them matches. Their spin attack of Wanindu Hasaranga, Akila Dananjaya, Praveen Jayawickrama is likely to trouble the SA batter, who are generally weak against spin. However, expect SA to come out on top due to their overall quality and take an early lead.
