South Africa v Sri Lanka showdown... five key areas
SRI LANKA and South Africa have developed an intense rivalry which sees the island nation lead the Proteas by 29 wins to 28 over the course of 59 one-day internationals.
While the Sri Lankans have played a number of big matches over the last decade, South Africa have never won a knockout match at a World Cup, STUART HESS and
ZAAHIER ADAMS give snapshots of five key areas ahead of tomorrow’s big match.
AB de Villers v Kumar Sangakkara
Arguably the two finest batsmen in the world today. On the biggest stage of them all, they have entertained royally with Sangakkara becoming the first batsman in the history of ODI cricket to hit four consecutive centuries while De Villiers thrilled with his unbeaten 162 against the West Indies.
Sangakkara has accumulated 496 runs at an average of 124, compared to De Villiers’s aggregate of 417. Whoever is left standing in this individual battle will go a long way to ensuring victory for their team.
Quinton de Kock
The young wicketkeeper/ batsman has endured a torrid time. From being the wun
derkind of South African cricket recently, the 22-year-old now has everyone calling for his head.
But for his keeping, and because his captain refuses to take the gloves, De Kock would surely have been sidelined by now. However, with the support shown by his coach and teammates and the luck of a new fancy haircut, De Kock will hope the tide turns tomorrow.
Middle-order
Crunch games usually require significant contributions from the men in the middle-order. It is often the No 5 to No 7 who have to carry the bulk of the pressure, especially during a tight run-chase.
South Africa’s middle-order was an Achilles heel at the previous World Cup, but David Miller, JP Duminy and possibly Rilee Rossouw are better equipped now to deal with the tension surrounding knockout games. Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews, Kusal Perera and Thisara Perera all have the ability to close out games.
Dale Steyn
He is nursing a bruised thigh courtesy of a whack while batting this week, and is in a bad mood. Well, good. Steyn needs something to ignite him, so that he can light up this World Cup. He’s felt like he’s taken a back seat as Morkel, Tahir and even Abbott have starred, but now, in South Africa’s most important game here, they need their main gun firing. He is desperate to make a contribution... tomorrow is a good time to do so.
Mental strength
Sangakkara has a good line about this, saying he prefers the term “mental skill”, over mental strength. If you are able to put aside the circumstances of the occasion, to focus sufficiently on the task at hand, you should be able to accomplish the task. Sri Lanka, through the sheer number of finals they’ve been in at limited-overs events, have that skill. South Africa don’t. South Africa think they have a solution, but can they apply it tomorrow?