Sri Lanka take on South Africa in the third match of 2017 Champions Trophy at the Kennington Oval in London on Saturday.
Both teams are heading into their tournament opener on the back of some poor One Day International performances. While South Africa lost a three-match ODI series to England only last month, Sri Lanka were unable to win the home series against Bangladesh, which came shortly after their 5-0 crushing in South Africa.
To add to Sri Lanka's woes, skipper Angelo Mathews, who struck a 95 against New Zealand in the warm-up match, is doubtful for the clash with a calf injury.
South Africa though will take confidence from their seven-wicket win over England in the final match of the recently-concluded ODI series. Pacers Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell picked up seven wickets between them and the duo will be crucial to their chances today. Imran Tahir, who is likely to play as the lone spinner, will have his work cut out as well at the Oval, which has produced high-scoring games in the recent past.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka struggled to contain both Australia and New Zealand in their warm-up games even after posting 300+ scores. The onus to step up and deliver will be on Lasith Malinga, who was impressive in the game against Steve Smith's men. Wrist-spinner Lakshan Sandakan will look to trouble the South African batsmen, who have proven weaknesses against spin.
While AB de Villiers' men have a strong batting line-up, Sri Lanka do not have the firepower in their camp. It will be important for veteran Upul Tharanga to lead from the front in the absence of Mathews if the Men in Blue are to stand a chance of testing their opponents today.
Team News
Sri Lanka
Possible XI: Tharanga (c), Dickwella (wk), Mendis, Chandima,, Gunaratne, Kapugedara, K Perera, T Perera, Kulasekara, Sandakan, Malinga
South Africa
Possible XI: De Villiers (c), De Kock (wk), Amla, Du Plessis, Duminy, Miller, Morris, Morke, Parnell, Rabada, Tahir
