South Africa vs Sri Lanka 4th ODI | Preview | 2012

South Africa have already won the 5 match series in the 50 over format against the inconsistent yet poor Sri Lankan unit but there is still plenty to play for in the dead rubbers. Sri Lanka will be feeling the pressure to get a win on the board in this series and even Graeme Smith will find himself under pressure with the lack of runs he has scored. It has been a terrible 9 months for Sri Lanka ever since the world cup final defeat to India last year.

Match Information :

January 20, Kimberley
Starting Time: 1430 Local Time

How the Teams Stand:

Sri Lanka have bowed down to an all time low as it has been their fourth consecutive series lost in the 50 over format since their World Cup glory where they managed to become runners ups. South Africa were expected to get a challenge on home soil where they so often struggle but it has been a walk in the park despite a few glimpses of good cricket from their opponents. South Africa will be hoping to complete a whitewash but with still 2 games in hand Sri Lanka will be trying to play out of their skin to earn some respect back. The 3rd ODI Sri Lanka were very unlucky to lose the match and it looks as if the further this series goes on the better they’re getting.

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The 3rd ODI displayed how vital the opening partnership of Dilshan and Tharanga is. They got Sri Lanka off to a good start which relieved any pressure on the middle order to perform and was definitely one of the better batting displays from Sri Lanka in the past 9 months. If the Sri Lankan team can consistently bat similarly to the 3rd ODI they should have success in the next few matches. Graeme Smith will be under a lot of pressure and with the build-up of criticism he would love to have the freedom to perform with the series already in hand. He has a lot of competition with Alviro Peterson with that other opener’s spot and these next 2 innings will be crucial to save his ODI career.

Pitch Report:

There was some grass left on the pitch but with the sun the pitch should turn out to be a batsman’s paradise.

Team News:

Dale Steyn has been rested meaning Wayne Parnell will play and it is unsure if either Morne Morkel or Vernon Philander will take up the other fast bowler spot.

South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith, 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Colin Ingram, 4 AB de Villiers (capt & wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Robin Petersen, 9 Wayne Parnell, 10 Morne Morkel/Vernon Philander, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Thirmanne will play instead of Mahela Jayawardene who has been ruled out for a couple weeks with a back injury.

Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Lahiru Thirimanne, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Nuwan Kulasekara, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Dhammika Prasad.

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