The first of three T20 Internationals between Sri Lanka and South Africa takes place in Colombo on Friday with the Proteas looking to bounce back from a very disappointing series defeat in the ODI's.
Sri Lanka won the ODI series 2-1, taking out the deciding contest by 78 runs on Tuesday, defending 203/9 by bowling the Proteas out for just 125. We now move on to the T20's as both sides build towards the World T20 later this year. All the matches on this tour will be staged at the R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo and we begin with news of the squads.
Sri Lanka named a 22 man squad for the ODI's and T20's.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Dhananjaya De Silva, Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kamindu Mendis, Minod Bhanuka, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Nuwan Pradeep, Binura Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Akhila Dananjaya, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lahiru Kumara, Lahiru Madushanka, Pulina Tharanga, Maheesh Theekshana
The Proteas welcome back Quinton de Kock along with David Miller, Ngidi and Fortuin who missed the ODI's.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen , Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams, Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Sisanda Magala, Beuran Hendricks
Recent Form
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka came from behind to beat India 2-1 in July, a 3 match series also staged at the R.Premadasa. In June they lost 3-0 in England and in March they went down 2-1 in West Indies.
South Africa
In July South Africa completed a 3-0 clean sweep of Ireland away from home. Prior to that the Proteas were in West Indies and they came away with a 3-2 series win. The Proteas hosted Pakistan in April and they lost a 4 matches series 3-1 whilst those teams also met in Pakistan in February and the Proteas were beaten 2-1.
Head to Head
Overall the teams have met 13 times with Sri Lanka winning 5 to South Africa's 7 with 1 tie
The most recent series came in South Africa in March 2019, the first match was tied and the Proteas won the next 2 by margins of 16 runs and 45 runs
The most recent meeting in Colombo came in August 2018 and Sri Lanka won a one off contest by 3 wickets
The Venue: R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
You can check the Weather Forecast here
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The Betting
Sri Lanka are currently trading at around 12/10 to win the game and South Africa can be backed at around 4/6
Sri Lanka are 11/10 to hit the most 6's with the Proteas 10/11 and a tie is 7/1
The highest first 6 overs total market has Sri Lanka at 11/10 and South Africa are 8/11
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
The Verdict
I fancied the Proteas to hit the most 6's in the final ODI on Tuesday but neither side managed to clear the ropes in the duration of the match.
With the likes of de Kock and Miller back in the fold I will stick with that bet here and any further bets along with tips from other punters will be posted on the weekly cricket thread on our discussion forum.
Bets:To hit the most 6's South Africa at 10/11
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Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
