South Africa take on Sri Lanka in a 2 match test series starting at Galle on 12 July and ending with the 2nd test in Colombo on 20 July. The short series promises to produce some top class cricket.
South Africa versus Sri Lanka Test Series Preview
South Africa has been in good test match form of late winning 5 of their past 6 test matches, including a 3-1 series win against Australia.
South Africa will be without AB De Villiers who recently retired from international cricket.
Sri Lanka on the other hand have not had a good 12 months at test level. Out of their last 14 matches they have won 5, lost 5 and drawn 4. Their most recent result was a 1-1 draw of a three match series against the West Indies. Sri Lanka will more than likely be without their captain Chadimal, due to ball tampering.
Skipper Dinesh Chandimal likely to not play a part in the series after admitting to breaching the ICC’s code of conduct during the drawn Test series against the West Indies last month.
Head to Head
South Africa are currently ranked 2nd in the world on the ICC rankings while Sri Lanka are mid table, ranked 6th.
The last time that these two sides had a test series against each other was at the end of 2016 in South Africa. South Africa comfortably won the series 3-0.
The Proteas toured Sri Lanka in 2014 and they won the two test series 1-0. Winning in Galle and then drawing the last test in Colombo.
Top Batsmen
Several batsmen have been in fantastic form over the last few months. For South Africa, Aiden Markram is averaging 55 over his last 10 tests which includes two hundreds in the series against Australia. Faf du Plessis has averaged 57.23 over his last 11 test matches with a highest score of 118 not out. Dean Elgar has been a rock at the top of the order and is averaging 51.50 over his last 6 matches with a highest score of 141.
For Sri Lanka, Mendis is the pick of the batsmen with an average of 61.77 over the past 5 test matches including a highest score of 196.
Top Bowlers
South Africa’s pace attack is formidable. The return of Steyn further adds to the excitement around the bowling line up. Rabada continues to impress and has an average of 19.65 with the ball over his last 7 tests. While Philander’s record in the past 7 matches is even better with a bowling average of 16.35.
Irrespective of the conditions and wickets, it is no secret that South Africa’s pacemen are their strength.
For Sri Lanka, 90 match veteran Herath, has a career average of 28.26 with a best score of 9/127. Relative new comer to the squad is right arm pacer, Kumara, who is averaging 25.47 with the ball over his last 4 test matches with a best figure of 4/58.
Betting Odds
First Test
- South Africa- 14/10
- Sri Lanka – 3/1
- Draw- 16/10
Series Win
- South Africa- 7/10
- Sri Lanka – 4/1
Prediction
With rain expected during the test match a draw might be the most likely outcome. However, despite the conditions the South African pace attack has the potential to rip through the Sri Lankan batting line up and set up a win.
Teams
Sri Lanka
Dinesh Chandimal (captain), Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Dilruwan Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Lahiru Kumara, Lakshan Sandakan, Kasun Rajitha.
South Africa
Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Theunis de Bruyn, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Shaun von Berg.
* Please note – odds mentioned above are subject to change, so always check the latest published odds to be fully certain before betting.
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