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South Africa - L L L L W
Sri Lanka - W L W L W
Head to Head
South Africa 12 - 5 Sri Lanka
Last Meeting: SA 146/6 beat SL 142 all out by 4 wickets (2021)
Venue Details
Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York
No T20s have taken place in this refurbished stadium. This contest will be the first T20 at the venue.
Weather conditions
Monday is expected to be partly cloudy in New York. However, the chances of rain during the game (10.30 AM local time) are less than 5%.
Players to watch out for
Heinrich Klaasen: The 32-year-old from South Africa has emerged as one of the best T20 batters over the past year. Only Nicholas Pooran (2061) has scored more T20 runs than Klaasen (1970) as a middle-order batter since 2023. In fact, Klaasen’s average and strike rate are both better than that of Pooran. He has been even more lethal against spin (840 runs, 56 average, 187.5 strike rate) which is the stronger suit in Sri Lanka’s bowling.
Wanindu Hasaranga: The leg-spinner has been Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is since 2023. Hasaranga has snapped 18 wickets in 13 matches since 2023, at an economy of only 7.5. Against South Africa, Hasaranga averages only 16.7 runs per wicket at an economy of 6.3. The right-hander could also become crucial to add valuable runs lower down the order.
Matheesha Pathirana: Pathirana’s bowling will be the key to Sri Lanka’s campaign, not just this fixture. The right-armer has played only a handful of games for Sri Lanka but is already the lynchpin of their bowling attack, owing to his brilliance in the death overs. He has been the prime pacer for Chennai Super Kings for a couple of seasons now. The 21-year-old had to opt out of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season due to injury but bowled three overs in the warm-up fixture against Ireland, where he picked 1/13.
Key battles
Matheesha Pathirana vs Tristan Stubbs
This could well be the battle to decide the outcome of this clash. Tristan Stubbs was the best death overs batter in the recently concluded IPL - 252 runs, 126 average, 262.5 strike rate. Meanwhile, in six matches, Pathirana had an economy of 8.9 in this phase. Hence, if they face each other in the contest, it will be a clash of the titans in the last five overs of South Africa’s innings.
Cricket.com’s suggested Fantasy XI
Probable Playing XI
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga ( c ), Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram ( c ), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
Streaming and Telecast details
The match will begin at 8 PM IST on June 3 (Monday) and will be streamed and telecasted on Disney+ Hotstar and Star Sports.
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