πππππ :Β South Africa vs Sri Lanka
ππππ : December 05 ,βThursdayβ
ππππ :β 13:30 PM ISTββββββ
πππππ : Saint Georgeβs Park, Gqeberha, South Africa
ππππππππππ :ββ 2nd Test 2024
Can Sri Lanka put an end to South Africaβs dominance at home?
- South Africa has won 14 tests out of the 32 test matches played at St Georgeβs Park in Gqebera
- Kamindu Mendis with 966 runs is the leading run-scorer for Sri Lanka in the 2023-25 WTC Cycle
- Kagiso Rabada with 36 wickets is the top wicket taker for South Africa in this WTC Cycle
South Africa vs Sri Lanka
TV channels: The fans can watch the match live on Hotstar
Live Streaming: Live streaming of the match will be available on the FAFA191 Cricket Exchange India and website.
RSA vs SL Match Prediction & Analysis
The second and final Test of the two-match Test series between South Africa and Sri Lanka is about to commence on December 5 at St Georgeβs Park in Gqebera. South Africa have taken an early 1-0 lead and have in the process, bolstered their chances of making it to their maiden WTC final by crushing the visitors by 233 runs in the Durban Test.Β
History was made on that day as South Africa were able to overcome their jinx and register their maiden Test win against Sri Lanka in Durban. While both teams are still in contention for a spot in the WTC final, South Africa appear as strong favorites following their monumental win in the first Test.Β Β
Head-to-Head Record:Β South Africa and Sri Lanka share a long yet rich history in Test cricket. In their 31-year-long Test history, South Africa have emerged victorious in 17 out of 32 Tests with Sri Lanka managing to win 9 of them. But in South Africa, the tourists have only managed to win on three occasions since 1998. Furthermore, in their last five Test fixtures, South Africa managed to have the upper hand as well winning 3 out of the last 5 Tests.
TEAMS PREVIEW
South Africa Preview
South African camp would be brewing in confidence after their famous win in Durban. Not only were they able to bury the ghosts of the 2019 Test defeat (which saw them lose the series), but the hosts have now made a statement with that win making them a force to reckon with in the WTC points table. Marco Jansen was simply unplayable in that match and delivered his career-best Test figures of 7/13 & 4/73 to power SA to a crushing win.Β
However, the team has been rocked by injury updates as Coetzee and Mulder have both been ruled out for the rest of the summer. Experts estimate that the teenager Kwena Maphaka may get a go in their absence while the management would also be considering either getting Dane Paterson or Senuran Muthusamy to fill the second vacant spot.
Sri Lanka Preview
Sri Lanka walked into the series with a lot of promise but their poor show with the bat in the first innings has raised questions about their overall resilience as a unit. The Lankan seamers featuring Kumara and the two Fernandos were breathing fire and caused a lot of headaches to the Proteas batters with the new ball.Β
But when it was their turn to bat, Sri Lanka folded for their lowest-ever Test score of 42-10 with only two batters managing to get to double figures. From that moment, Sri Lanka were playing the catch-up game as SA batted effortlessly in the second innings and mounted a target of 516 which proved way beyond the reach of the visitors.
Following their humiliating defeat, Sri Lanka would be forced to make some changes to their lineup. Sadeera Samarawickrama, being a technically astute batter has been a consistent performer for Sri Lanka across all three formats and he could be given a green signal.Β
Weather Conditions
We expect partially cloudy weather on all five days of the Test match with little to no rain threat. Temperatures throughout all five days are expected to be at a modest high of 27C but can drop to as low as 19C when the evening approaches. Overall, the weather is going to be warm with wind speed expected to be in the range of 20-35 km/hr.Β Β
RSA vs SL Pitch Report
The lively deck at St Georgeβs Park offers prodigious assistance to the fast bowlers in the form of sharp pace and bounce. Moreover, the ball also has a tendency to nip around off the seam when the ball is new. As the Test match starts progressing to the latter stages, the natural deterioration starts taking effect as the cracks get longer making batting in the fourth innings a very daunting affair. From a batterβs standpoint, the ball will move around quite a bit both in the air and off the pitch and there will be no easy runs on offer for the most part of the Test.
Toss: To Bat
Teams batting first have a slight edge. Whilst the average first innings score batting first amounts to a healthy 312, the score drops all the way down to 156 in the fourth innings. This highlights the extraordinary difficulty of batting last and keeping this factor in mind, teams should look to bat first and refrain from the possibility of chasing. In the 32 Test matches played at this venue the team batting first won 14 matches, while the team batting second won 13 matches.Β