South Africa looks to continue winning run against Lanka

The Proteas whitewashed Sri Lanka 5-0 in a bilateral series in South Africa in January. Sri Lanka were not alone in being a touring side routed in 50-over cricket by South Africa, with the Proteas previously also hammering  Australia 5-0. 

Yet for all they are top of the one-day international rankings, South Africa have a reputation for under-performing in International Cricket Council tournaments. 

The only ICC event they have won was the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998. South Africa also boast the world’s number oneranked ODI batsman and bowler in AB de Villiers and Kagiso Rabada respectively. In all they have four batsmen and two bowlers in the respective top 10 ICC rankings, while seventh-placed Sri Lanka have none in either list. 

“We’re still ranked the No 1 team in the world going into the tournament, so there are quite a few reasons for us to be confident,” said South Africa captain de Villiers, whose side were beaten 2-1 away to Champions Trophy hosts England in a preceding three-match warm-up series. 

Sri Lanka head into the tournament as underdogs and one of the key reasons they’ve struggled in recent months has been the absence of fast bowler Lasith Malinga, who hasn’t played any ODI cricket since November 2015 due to a knee injury. 

The return of Malinga, whose unorthodox, slingshot action makes him one of the most difficult bowlers to face in world cricket, would be a massive boost for Sri Lanka.  “He has been our leading bowler for many years and we missed him,” said captain Angelo Mathews. 

“He is very keen to return to ODI cricket and we are looking forward to him performing again.” There are also question marks about all-rounder Mathews’s availability for the South Africa match after scans revealed he’d suffered a calf strain.