 South
Africa will take on Sri Lanka in the first game of the Champions Trophy
at Centurion. The two teams are placed in Group B along with England and New Zealand.
South Africa will be the favourites to win the tournament, and given that being
the case, their first game against the Lankans will be crucial to the outcome.
This is a tournament in which every side plays three games in the league stage,
and in most probabilities needs to win at least two games to get to the knock-out
stage. A loss first up could not only be morale shattering, but also make it
difficult for the side to bounce back into a semi-finals' contention.
Click for Live Score Card of South Africa vs Sri Lanka
However, if the warm-up result is anything to go by for the Proteas, then,
they seem to be in a fine fiddle. They had smashed a 388 in their fifty overs
against a hapless West Indian side and then got rid of them for only 200. However,
the match wasn't without its set of bad news for the hosts, as they lost Herschelle Gibbs to an abdominal strain. He will be a high-profile name missing out
of at least the first game against Lanka. In all probabilities, his place should
be taken by Hashim Amla.
The others had a good batting session, what with Graeme Smith, Jacques
Kallis and J.P.Duminy all getting 80s to their name. The bowling line-up will
comprise of the likes of Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Wayne Parnell
could also get a look-in, making it rather difficult for the Lankans to go after
them in the early conditions.
Sri Lanka will rely heavily on T.Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya to provide them
starts. One has already seen the difference between a Lankan side with a start
and another without the quickie! While Jayasuriya may just struggle on the bouncier
pitches of South Africa, even if he could manage to score a quickfire
20-30 and have Dilshan bat through about 20 overs, it would be a good enough
scenario for the Sri Lankans.
The Lankan bowling could be the surprise factor of the tournament. With guys
like Thilan Thushara and Nuwan Kulasekera in the form of their lives,
the pitches in South Africa should assist them into bowling that much better;
thus making the job for the spinners in the middle overs a trifle simpler. A
lot would depend on whether Muttiah Muralitharan is fit enough to play,
because he had missed out the entire Compaq Cup due to injuries and should be
a cause for concern.
The first game of the Champions Trophy will witness the hosts South Africa take
on the Sri Lankans at Centurion. It will be a day night game.
The two teams are placed in the second group along with the Kiwis and the English.
New Zealand will enter into the tournament having just lost both their ODIs
in the Compaq Cup tri-series, whereas England has only just come out of a series
against Australia, 6-1.
The Sri Lanka will have it tough in this series. The reason for it is
the difficulty in adjusting to the bounce on the South African pitches which
the sides from the Asian continent usually face - but more so Sri Lankans, given
that most tracks in their own country are usually the ones that keep low and
do not assist a lot of fast bowlers. This means that not only will the Sri Lankan
batsmen need to adjust quickly to the quicker wickets, but also have the bowlers
bowl a different length to the one that they do in their own back yard.
Having said that, the Lankan bowling will be bolstered by the presence of two
of their quick bowlers in Nuwan Kulasekera and Thilan Thushara - both
of whom are in a fine bowling form. Kulasekera is the world's number one bowler
in the ODIs according to the ICC rankings and that is one reason for the tourists
to feel better. With M. Muralitharan to act as a back-up, the Sri Lankans could
be the underdogs of the tournament.
For South Africa, it will be a huge opportunity to win a major tournament at
home. The Proteas are the number one ranked side in the world today, but their
record of choking in major tournamenrs like these is almost exemplary and that
is the one thing they will look to overcome.
Herschelle Gibbs may be out of the game with an injury, but the batting has
enough firepower to counter the opposition. With Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis
and J.P.Duminy all scoring 80s in the warm up game, it will not be too easy
for the opponents to get through the top order of South Africa.
The bowling will be led by the likes of Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn and even
the young Wayne Parnell, who should make it difficult for the opposition with
his pace and incision.
To me, it does not look like Sri Lanka can win the game, but a good performance
may go a long way in making it better for them in the rest of the tournament.
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