Saturday, January 21, 2012

Resurgent Sri Lanka Aim To End Series On A High

Sri Lanka meet South Africa in the fifth and the final ODI at the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.

Having lost the Test series 2-1 and the first three ODIs of the five match series, the visitors desperately needed to hit form and get a win on the board. They replied in a great manner in the fourth ODI at Kimberley, chasing down a mammoth total of 300 under pressure. Out of form Skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan led from the front and played an important knock of 87. The middle order too performed well and stitched some crucial partnerships before Thisara Perera took the game away from the home side with a swashbuckling innings of 69 coming down the order. Earlier, their bowlers did well in the death overs to peg the home side back who looked on course for a total beyond 350.

With the team finally performing well, the visitors won’t be looking to disturb the winning combination. But there are chances that all-rounder Kosala Kulasekara, who showed promising signs in the first three ODIs, may replace Lahiru Thirimanne in the starting line-up.
Mahela Jayawardena, who did not play the last ODI, has been ruled out for the next few weeks with a back injury.

For South Africa, their biggest concern, opener Graeme Smith, finally struck some form and hit a fine half-century. Skipper AB de Villiers looks in great nick and the middle order seems stable. There shouldn’t be any changes in the batting department but we can expect a change in the bowling department with off-spinner Johan Botha replacing Robin Peterson in the starting line-up.

Out of the three matches played between these two sides at Johannesburg, South Africa have won two and lost one. The last time these two played at this ground, the home side battered the Lankans by six wickets in November 2002.

After a disastrous beginning, the Lankans would be looking to end the series on a high and salvage some pride with a 3-2 scoreline.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Cruising Proteas look to make it 4-0

The visiting Sri Lankans finally managed to put up some fight in the third ODI but unluckily lost out by four runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method because of thundershowers at Bloemfontein.

South Africa have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series and all that is left for Sri Lanka is to play for pride. Sri Lanka’s opening woes finally came to an end as Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga put on a 94-run stand in the last match. Their middle order batsmen got starts but could not convert them into big scores.

Meanwhile for South Africa, without the likes of Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla, newly promoted Faf du Plessis showed great character and led the home side’s fight back before skipper AB de Villiers and Albie Morkel’s cameo powered them through.

The form of opener Graeme Smith is a big worry for the Proteas as he has flopped in all the previous three matches. Having won the series, the home side may think of giving their reserve players a run. Wayne Parnell might take the place of Lonwabo Tsotsobe, while either Dale Steyn or Morne Morkel could be rested and Vernon Philander roped in. In the spin department, off-spinner Johan Botha may get a game in place of Robin Peterson.

For Sri Lanka, debutant Sachithra Senanayake could get an opportunity in place of Rangana Herath. The rest of the team is likely to remain unchanged. The De Beers Diamond Oval in Kimberly is known to be a high-scoring ground, so there could be some thrills on offer if the Lankan seniors really fire in search of their first win.