As Sri Lanka celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ with the unveiling of World’s Largest Christmas Tree at Galle Face Green on Christmas Eve, the attention of their fans will be on their Island nation’s pride; Cricket as the national side takes on the Rainbow Nation, South Africa in the Boxing Day Test which is set to commence Monday in Port Elizabeth.
With only one Test win under their belt on South African soil, Sri Lanka who made history against Australia at home with a 3-0 whitewash, thrashed Zimbabwe in two away Test matches, will be a completely different outfit from their 0-2 thrashings at the hands of England, New Zealand during the last 12 months. Playing away from home is not Sri Lanka’s forte but under Angelo Mathews they will have to prove that they could beat any team, anywhere in the world.
South Africa vs Sri Lanka Test Series – Let’s Talk Numbers
The summer in South Africa will be illuminated with Sri Lanka taking on the Proteas in a 3 match Test series with the first one kicking off on Boxing Day. Let’s take a closer look at the numbers between these two sides.
Even though Sri Lanka has played 10 games in South Africa and lost 8, they are yet to play a game in Port Elizabeth which is renowned to be one of the slowest tracks in South Africa, “No one has played any Test matches or one-dayers here from this touring party. We will not think about it too much because we’re not sure what we’re going to get.” Sri Lanka Captain Angelo Mathews said about their newest Test destination.
With AB De Villiers ruled out of his third successive Test series, Faf Du Plessis, the new permanent Proteas captain will look to commence his golden era with the hopes of unsettling the Sri Lankans. South Africa can go up to at least the second position in Test rankings if they could beat the visitors, 3-0 and the fact that the Lankans will not play a Test in Durban (Which is the venue Sri Lanka beat South Africa in 2011) can easily assist in favour of the home team.
Sri Lanka
As seven out of eight batsmen on tour scoring half-centuries in the practice game, Sri Lanka’s exciting batting unit driven by the emergence of youth will be itching to make a mark and write their names in to history books. Interestingly, Upul Tharanga and Lahiru Kumara will call themselves unlucky if they miss out on selection behind Kusal Perera and Dushmantha Chameera as they have been excellent throughout the Zimbabwe tour and during the practice affair as well.
Lions’ pride in South Africa
A lions’ pride, usually made up of an adult male, several females, and their cubs, rests at the top of the food chain in the African Savanna. The females, despite being weaker than a male lion, are the best hunters in the grassland.
Most Sri Lankan batsmen in the past have struggled in South Africa but it will be interesting to see how this promising top seven, especially the likes of Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya De Silva would perform against the seaming delivery in unfamiliar conditions. In a sense it would be a defining run for Sri Lanka Cricket. Rangana Herath will be once again leading the attack probably one of his last away tours and will look for the faster men to make some early breakthroughs.
Probable XI – Dimuth Karunarathne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews (Captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya De Silva, Rangana Herath, Dushmantha Chameera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep.
South Africa
They had a dream series in Australia clinching a 2-1 win with almost everyone playing their part in that historic win, can they continue their good form? Left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj will be the cynosure of all eyes, playing his first Test in front of a home crowd and will be aiming to dry up the runs as he replaces Tabraiz Shamsi from the side which lost the Adelaide Test last month.
Uncapped batsman Theunis de Bruyn and left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell, the latest additions to the 13-man South Africa squad but they will most probably carry drinks in Port Elizabeth with Head Coach Russell Domingo giving the likes of Stephan Cook, JP Duminy, Kyle Abbott and Temba Bavuma the opportunity to cement their spot in the team.
Senior statesman, Hashim Amla had a forgettable Australian tour where he scored only 98 runs in five innings and remains as the only survivor which lost the Durban Test, five years ago against Sri Lanka. He will need to step up and perform up to expectations against the Lankans in order to maintain his place in the side in future.
Probable XI – Dean Elgar, Stephan Cook, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf Du Plessis (Captain), Temba Bavuma, Quinton De Cock, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada.
Pitch and Weather Conditions
South Africa has played 26 Tests at St. George’s Park in Port Elizabeth , won 11, lost 11 and drawn 5. The last time it hosted a Test match was in 2014 when West Indies drew the game with rain coming into play but this time around, perfect overhead conditions are expected throughout the course of the match.
The pitch will have a tinge of grass on top of the surface which will assist the seamers early on but the spinners will come into play as the game progresses to day four and five. The batsmen will find it tough to score runs and will need to back their skills, technique and temperament in order to grind for runs. With a full house expected on all five days, the atmosphere for Test match cricket will be electrifying.
For FREE Live SMS Updates Click Here
Final Say
The biggest question on everyone’s mind will be, how can Sri Lanka beat the rejuvenated, red-hot South Africans in their own den? The simple answer is, play the game to the best of ability, concentrate on their game and do the basics right, the results will follow. Nevertheless, a cracking Test series will be upon us for the next few weeks but the team who draws the first blood will have the edge throughout the three-match series.
