South Africa hope change of format brings change of form
South Africa have a task on hand, facing up to the No. 1 Twenty20 side and their much-vaunted short-format attack so soon after the ODI series thumping
Match facts
Friday, August 02, 2013Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)
Big Picture
Before South Africa can even allow the lessons of a deflating ODI series loss to sink in, twelve of their one-day squad must now gather themselves for battle in a different format. The teams will play three matches over the next five days, beginning with a game at the R Premadasa Stadium, which has not only been the scene of two mammoth South Africa defeats in the past two weeks, but also a venue that only brought them sorrow in the World Twenty20 last year.Form guide
Sri Lanka WWWLW (most recent first, last five completed matches)South Africa LWLWL
Players to watch
Mahela Jayawardene could not make a significant score in the ODIs, and will want to emphasise his continuing importance to the side as the two other seniors have already done during the tour. He has been Sri Lanka's best Twenty20 batsmen in the past, but his best innings have come when he has opened, which he may not do on Friday. He did not play in the fifth ODI and perhaps that short break will assist a return to form.Team news
Sri Lanka may think about batting Kusal Perera in the middle order, given that is where he has prospered in domestic cricket, but will also be tempted to try him at opener once more. Kulasekara is available for the first time in three weeks, but whether he plays or not will be determined by whether his batting now is deemed good enough for him to replace a batsman. Lahiru Thirimanne will likely make way if so.Pitch and conditions
Slow surfaces have compounded South Africa's woes, and they should not expect respite from the Premadasa curators for this match. Thunderstorms continue to blow through Colombo, but the rain expected for Friday is forecast to ease well before the match is set to begin.Stats and trivia
- If Sri Lanka defeat South Africa, they will have the best win-loss ratio in Twenty20 internationals, edging out Pakistan, who have won 1.68 games for each of their losses
- South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 32 runs, the last time the teams met, during the World Twenty20. The match had been reduced to seven overs a side, due to rain.
Quotes
"They've got some great Twenty20 players coming in; Wayne Parnell, Imran Tahir, Henry Davids. We haven't played a lot of these guys before, so we can't take this side lightly - they are still very good."Dinesh Chandimal is wary, despite Sri Lanka's ODI dominance
Faf du Plessis looks forward to having Tahir in the side
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. He tweets here