Sri Lanka take on South Africa in Match 4 of the T20 World Cup 2024 in New York on Monday, June 3. The match starts at 9:30 am IST which is 8 pm IST for Indian fans.
Sri Lanka are placed alongside South Africa, Bangladesh, Netherlands and Nepal in Group D. They are the winners of the T20 World Cup in 2014.
They will be led by Wanindu Hasaranga, who won the T20I series over Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before this ICC event. With the IPL in between, it was in March that Sri Lanka last played competitive T20I cricket. However, those victories will boost the team’s confidence.
The Lankans lost their first World Cup warm-up match against the Netherlands on Friday. They played the game in Lauderhill. Before their first game of the season against South Africa, they will play another game against Ireland.
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Sri Lanka Playing 11 vs South Africa – ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Match 4
Pathum Nissanka
Nissanka will open the batting against South Africa. He is among Sri Lanka’s in-form batsmen at the moment. He is getting closer and closer to 1500 T20I runs.
Kusal Mendis (WK)
Mendis will open the batting with Nissanka. He, along with Nissanka, were the two most in-form batsmen of the tournament. Mendis was chosen in place of Kusal Perera in the team and will also share groundskeeping duties.
Sadeera Samarawickrama
Sadeera can fit all three. He batted well in partnership with Mendis in the ODI World Cup and is someone who plays spin well at the top of the order.
Dhananjaya De Silva
De Silva is the Test captain and a very capable batsman with four. He can also bowl good quality off-spin and presents a top-four bowling option.
Charith Asalanka
Asalanka can fit in at five. He is a natural stroke maker and also an aggressive hitter. He also features a spin option.
Angel Mateo
The veteran all-rounder can bat at six. He was part of Sri Lanka’s 2014 T20 World Cup squad. He also played in the last World Cup. He played in every T20 World Cup since 2009.
Dasun Shanaka
Shanaka can fit in at seven. He led the team in the ODI World Cup last year but was sacked after the team’s poor performance in the tournament. He will have something to prove.
Wanindu Hasaranga (C)
Hasaranga, the captain, can bat next. He is a very capable batsman, but his main role will be with the ball, as he is one of the team’s two specialist spinners. He will have to do some thinking heading into this game.
Mahesh Theekshana
Theekshana will be the third player in the XI. He recently played for CSK in IPL 2024. This year he had a tough season picking only two wickets in five games.
Dushmantha Chameera
Chameera will be one of the two pacers in the lineup. He was part of the KKR team that won IPL 2024. He has pace and can reach 140 km/h regularly.
Dilshan Madushanka
The left-arm pacer concludes Sri Lanka’s probable XI. He swings the ball with pace and is an option to pick up ground for his team. He could be one of the players to take into account in this World Cup.
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