For those of us who have made fun of the South African cricket team as the biggest chokers on the planet, captain AB De Villiers has this to say to us: “All I can say is we’re not going to choke. We’re just going to play a good game of cricket tomorrow and come out on top. Simple.” We believe you, AB!
No team in world cricket causes so much frustration to its supporters than South Africa. Man-to-man, South Africa have always had the most talented cricket teams. And yet, when the occasions demands it most, their talented group of cricketers fail at the last hurdle, and do what everybody mocks them for – choke!
Will South Africa choke tomorrow against a resurgent Sri Lanka led by the brilliant Kumar Sangakarra, who seems to be playing his best cricket at an advanced age of 37, proving that age is just a number? We certainly think so. We believe that Sri Lanka have the killer instinct that South Africa lack so badly in big tournaments.
Yes, South Africa have scored two 400-plus scores in this tournament, but they came against weaker opponents. When it mattered most, against the likes of India and Pakistan, South Africa lost. Who is to bet against them losing to Sri Lanka as well, tomorrow in the first quarter-finals?
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Matthews looks understandably more relaxed than his South African counterpart. Says Angelo, “I hope the toss isn’t vital. Look, generally the wickets have been extremely good, so we’ve seen teams chasing 300 as well. So if a team bats first and if they get to the 300 mark the game is not yet over.”
Sri Lanka look super strong in the batting department with Kumar Sangakarra breaking all possible records and in the form of his life. Besides the highly talented Kumar, Sri Lanka have a lot of batting firepower as well, with the likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Matthews and Lahiru Thirimanne.
Lasith Malinga has lost pace, but he is accurate as ever. But Sri Lanka are weak in the bowling department as they have no one to back Malinga. They would be sweating it out over the fitness of off spinner Rangana Herath.
For South Africa, Faf du Plessis has recovered from the lower back injury and they now face a choice between Farhaan Behardien and Rilee Rossouw. We expect Rossouw to play as he is perhaps the more accomplished batsman.
The Teams
South Africa: 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Rilee Russouw/ Farhaan Behardien, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Morne Morkel, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran Tahir
Sri Lanka: 1 Lahiru Thirimanne, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Kusal Perera, 6 Angelo Mathews (capt), 7 Thisara Perara, 8 Seekkuge Prasanna/ Rangana Herath, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Suranga Lakmal/ Dushmantha Chameera
Match Conditions
The SCG has always assisted spinners, which is why we expect Sri Lankan spin bowlers to play an important role in this match. We expect a dry weather, although it has been raining for short bursts in Sydney for the last few days. Expect the batsmen to shine here.
Watch Sri Lanka take on South Africa in the first Quarter-Final of the ICC World Cup 2015 on Star Sports at 9:00 AM this Wednesday!
