South Africa hope change of format brings change of form

Match facts

Friday, August 02, 2013
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)

South Africa's batsmen have the demons of the ODI series to overcome © AFP

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.

Worse for the visitors, Twenty20 has become Sri Lanka's strongest suit. They have been the top-ranked side in the format since October last year, and have arrived at a short-form formula few teams have successfully countered. The diversity in their attack is Sri Lanka's greatest forte, but the top order packs a punch as well, and with two bona fide Twenty20 finishers in addition to Nuwan Kulasekara, lower down, they are not far from being a complete Twenty20 side.

Chief among South Africa's concerns has been their batsmen's inability to handle Sri Lanka's spinners, and they will hope the format's demand for aggression will help them shake their funk against the slow bowlers. Ajantha Mendis was their primary tormentor in the ODIs, and though Mendis' record has worsened in the longer formats overall, his Twenty20 statistics remain as daunting as they have ever been. Teams have unsettled Mendis by attacking him early in his spells in the past, but in order for South Africa to be in a position to do that, they must ensure the top order provides a more stable foundation than they have managed so far in the tour.

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.

AB de Villiers had been woeful with the bat in his first four innings in Sri Lanka, but indicated he had finally come to grips with the conditions with a run-a-ball 51 in the last match. He has been adamant that he is hitting the ball well in training, but may need to shoulder greater run-making responsibility as the most experienced batsman in the Twenty20 side. He will also be rid of the captaincy that appears to have worn him thin in the last fortnight, and perhaps a less burdened mind can spark the sort of innings his side expects from him.

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.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1. Kusal Perera, 2. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3. Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4. Mahela Jayawardene, 5. Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 6. Angelo Mathews, 7. Lahiru Thirimanne/Nuwan Kulasekara, 8. Thisara Perera, 9. Sachithra Senanayake, 10. Ajantha Mendis, 11. Lasith Malinga

De Villers will likely open the innings alongside Henry Davids, as he did in South Africa's last Twenty20 against Pakistan. Imran Tahir is likely to play as well, and will provide the attacking spin option South Africa have lacked in the ODIs, but the pace bowling spots are less secure, with at least four frontline fast bowlers vying for spots there.

South Africa (probable): 1. AB de Villiers (wk), 2. Henry Davids, 3. Faf du Plessis (capt), 4. JP Duminy, 5. David Miller, 6. Ryan McLaren, 7. Chris Morris, 8. Wayne Parnell/Lonwabo Tsotsobe, 10. Rory Kleinveldt/Morne Morkel, 11. Imran Tahir

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

"It's great to have Imran with us because he gets wickets. That's something that the Sri Lankan spinners have done very well, they're always picking up wickets. It's nice to have one of our own to do that and I'll be using him to attack."
Faf du Plessis looks forward to having Tahir in the side

Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. He tweets here

Feeds: Andrew Fidel Fernando

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