🏏ICC T20 WC 2024, Match 4: Sri Lanka vs South Africa @ New York🏏

🏏ICC T20 WC 2024, Match 4: Sri Lanka vs South Africa @ New York🏏

Venue: Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York

Today, Sri Lanka (SL) will face off against South Africa (SA) in the fourth match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

The clash is set to take place at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Monday (June 3).

Both teams find themselves in Group D, alongside the Netherlands, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Leading the Lankan side will be spin all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, while Aiden Markram will captain the Proteas.

With a strong spin unit, the 2014 champions are relying on the experience of all-rounder Angelo Mathews, who is gearing up for his sixth T20 World Cup appearance.

Meanwhile, South Africa boasts a formidable batting lineup, including top-class finishers like David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, and Tristan Stubbs.

Despite their consistent presence in the knockout stages of various World Cup editions, South Africa has yet to lift the coveted title.

South Africa are playing their first game of this tournament. In their last five games, South Africa have won one game and lost four. Sri Lanka are also playing their first game of this tournament. In their last five games, Sri Lanka have won three games and lost two.

Sri Lankans and South Africans have fond memories of 2014. In Dubai on March 1 that year the latter's team beat Pakistan in the men's under-19 World Cup final. In Dhaka 37 days later the Lankans overcame India in the final of what was then called the men's World T20. But neither Lankan nor South African fans have had reason to celebrate, in a global sense, since.

SL vs SA, Pitch Report and Weather Conditions

The pitch at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, is balanced.

Weather Report

The temperature will hover around 15 degree celcius with 60% humidity. Winds at a speed of 6.82 m/s are expected. Cloudy weather is expected during the match, this may help pacers with movement. Light rain is forecasted which may affect playing conditions.

SL vs SA, Head-to-Head

In the 17 matches played between these two teams, South Africa's bowlers have earned the most fantasy points for their team, while the all-rounders have earned the most fantasy points for Sri Lanka.

Both teams last played against each other in the Super 12 - Match 25 of the ICC World Twenty20, 2021, where Pathum Nissanka scored the highest fantasy points for Sri Lanka with 104 points while Tabraiz Shamsi topped the fantasy points leaderboard for South Africa with 105 points.

Team Watch:

Sri Lanka:The tournament will be Chris Silverwood's last engagement as coach, a fact that could either galvanise or discombobulate his players.

Tactics & Matchups: Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana and Dilshan Madushanka give Sri Lanka an attack as varied as it is potent.

Probable XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya De Silva, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga (C), Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka

South Africa: Whether Anrich Nortje can be the bowler he was - and has since struggled to be - before a lumbar stress fracture that kept him off the field for 180 days from September last year to March is central to South Africa's chances.

Tactics & Matchups: How the return from the IPL of a middle order staffed by David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs will impact a side who were beaten 3-0 by West Indies last month will be keenly watched.

Probable XI: Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram (C), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi

South Africa will have to adapt to the unknown conditions quickly in their T20 World Cup Group D opener against Sri Lanka in New York, but captain Aiden Markram is confident his side can end their luckless run at global events.

South Africa are ranked seventh in the ICC T20 team rankings but Markram believes his team can adjust to the conditions ahead of Monday’s fixture at the brand-new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Long Island.

“We do things together as a team early in the mornings so by now we are used to it,” Markram said in his pre-match news conference.

“If you look at it from a big-picture point of view, it is an exciting day, we didn’t think we would ever be playing a World Cup game in New York.

Group D – or the so-called group of death – also includes Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Nepal.

South Africa have a well-known list of failures at 50-over and 20-over World Cups, where they have been favourites going in and found unusual ways to go out.

However, Markram feels that if they hit their straps, they are a match for anyone in the competition.

“I am feeling quietly confident, there are really good teams here but we feel if we find our form and play to the best of our ability we can beat anyone,” he said.

Sri Lanka will rely on strong bowling lineup

Their opponents, Sri Lanka, is another team that has underachieved at World Cups in recent years.

The island nation won the T20 World Cup in 2014 but have since failed to reach the final but their captain Wanindu Hasaranga backs his team’s strong bowling attack to lead the way.

“Me and Maheesh Theekshana are in top five in the ICC rankings and we have good fast bowlers as well,” he pointed out ahead of the match.

The 26-year-old all-rounder believes his team’s early arrival in the United States has helped them prepare “really well”.

“We came to North Carolina two weeks earlier, had practice sessions there and we played two practice matches in Florida,” he said.

“The wicket’s bounce is uneven – it’s tennis ball-like bounce – and I think it will be helpful for our bowlers.”

It's harsh but fair that, in ICC tournament terms, Sri Lanka and South Africa have spent the past 10 years going nowhere slowly. In that time Australia or England have won five of the six men's ODI and T20I World Cups played and West Indies the other.

Despite producing some of the most memorable players of the era, neither Sri Lanka nor South Africa have produced memorable teams of the era.

Will that change at the 2024 T20 World Cup? The start of an answer to the question will be had after their clash in Nassau County on Monday.

If Saturday's warm-up match at the same venue, the inaugural game at the temporary 34,000-seater stadium, is anything to go by, batting could be tough.

Some deliveries in the warm-up game between India and Bangladesh stayed low, others bounced or seamed.

Only one half-century was scored and nine of the 16 bowlers used were able to get away with conceding fewer than eight runs an over. It was all, you might say, so 2014.

Did you know?

- Wanindu Hasaranga needs eight wickets to surpass Lasith Malinga and become Sri Lanka's most successful bowler in the tournament.

- South Africa have lost three of their last four opening games in the tournament. The other, against Zimbabwe in Hobart in October 2022, was washed out.

- Sri Lanka have won six of their eight opening matches, including four of their last five.

What they said:

"The numbers haven't been great for him in the last while but I'm not overly concerned. I've watched him quite closely during the IPL and we've had quite a few discussions around tactics and fields and things like that. If you get the balance of that right, then what can be big numbers can be turned into a far better return in terms of runs and wickets, etcetera." - Eric Simons, South Africa's bowling coach, on Anrich Nortje's progress going into the tournament.

Thanks for the tag and thread. Supporting SA today