South Africa vs Sri Lanka, Cricket World Cup Quarterfinals: Top-Five Battles
South Africa will look to better their 2-1 head-to-head record against Sri Lanka in the World Cup when the two sides meet in the quarterfinals.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: March 17, 2015 09:07 PM IST
South Africa will look to get rid of the 'chokers' tag when they take on 1996 champions Sri Lanka in their World Cup quarter-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday. Here are the top-five battles to watch out for. (South Africa Odds-on Favourites to Win vs Sri Lanka)
AB de Villiers vs Lasith Malinga: An interesting battle will be on cards when the two cricketing giants clash against each other. South Africa captain AB de Villiers is third in the list of leading run-getters behind Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara and Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor. De Villiers will be keen to help his side win in knockouts for the first time since they first played in 1992. Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga has not been in great form in the tournament but with Rangana Herath out, the onus to shoulder the responsibility will fall upon his shoulders. He has taken 11 wickets so far and is his side's leading wicket-taker. (Fixtures | Full World Cup Coverage)
Hashim Amla vs Tillakaratne Dilshan: Both the stars have scored runs but the Sri Lankan has been in tremendous form, scoring two hundreds in the tournament. While Amla has so far amassed 307 with one century, Dilshan has smashed 395 runs. It would be interesting to see how both the openers deal with the new ball. Their success or failure could well determine the course of the match. (Proteas Won't Choke, Says AB)
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Dale Steyn vs Kumar Sangakkara: Dale Steyn has been patchy so far while Kumar Sangakkara has been in superb form. However, South Africa will wrest their hopes on Steyn to unsettle the Lankan batting line-up, especially the run-machine Sangakkara. He has hit a record four consecutive hundreds in ODIs and is currently leading the batting charts with 496 runs.
Imran Tahir vs Angelo Mathews: Imran Tahir (11) is South Africa's second-highest wicket-taker behind Morne Morkel (13) with a five-wicket haul to his credit. He will play a key role for the Proteas in the first quarter-final. But against him will be an in-form batting line-up, whose top-order has toyed with almost every bowling attack. Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews has been terrific with both bat and ball and will look to continue with his form.
Faf du Plessis vs Mahela Jayawardene: Du Plessis is South Africa's batting mainstay while Jayawardene has performed that role for Sri Lanka for many, many years. While Du Plessis is consistent with the bat, the former Sri Lankan skipper has found it tough to score big. All eyes will be on Jayawardene, who will retire after the tournament, and the quarter-final vs Proteas could even be his last. Both have scored a hundred each but they will give it all come Wednesday.