Temba Bavuma-led South Africa will hope for a positive start to the 2023 ICC men’s ODI World Cup as they meet Sri Lanka as both teams kick-start their campaign in the showpiece event on Saturday. The match will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi and going by what appears on paper South Africa appear more formidable. However, with the World Cup being played in the sub-continent and Sri Lanka possessing few good spinners, the Asian Cup 2023 runners-up can give Proteas a run for their money.
If we compare both the squads one area, which appears nearly perfect for South Africa is their batting. The likes of Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller have often bullied bowlers on Indian wickets, as witnessed in the IPL and so could be the case on Saturday.
However, the loss of Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala due to injuries might hurt the Proteas. In their absence the onus will be on experienced Kagiso Rabado, who could be seen sharing the new ball duties with young Marco Jansen. Tabraiz Shamsi, and Keshav Maharaj, if included in the playing XI, too will have a huge role considering the nature of the track in Delhi, which is usually on the slowe side.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, have problems of their own with the biggest being the absence of Maheesh Theekshana from the contest due to an injury. This will then shift focus towards Dunith Wellalage, who had recently outfoxed the star-studded Indian batting line-up in the Asia Cup.
Batting appears to be the biggest headache for Sri Lanka, as Kusal Perera is the only batter in top six to score at a strike-rate of 90. The likes of Kusal Mendis and Dasun Shanaka does provide some reassurance but the latter is going through a dry run with the bat.
Let’s take a look at some of the key stats ahead of the game:
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD OVERALL:
Matches: 80
South Africa win: 45
Sri Lanka win: 43
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD WORLD CUP:
Matches: 6
South Africa win: 4
Sri Lanka win: 2
LAST 5 MEETINGS:
The last time the two nations met in the 50-over format was back in September 2021, which was a three-match series being played in the island nation. South Africa had then won one, while Sri Lanka won the other two.
South Africa, however, won the two matches held prior to the ODI series but both of which were not played in the sub-continent.
FORM GUIDE
South Africa: WWWLL
Sri Lanka: LWLWW
Did you know?
South Africa have lost just one of their six ODI World Cup matches against Sri Lanka, but none of those games were played in Asia.
