SL vs SA, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Key Players: Lasith Malinga, Imran Tahir and Other Cricketers to Watch Out for in Durham

With a hope to reach the semi-finals, Sri Lanka will take on South Africa in the 35th match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Both the teams will lock horns at Riverside Ground in Durham and the match will begin at 3 pm IST. While South Africa is already out of the tournament after losing five matches out of seven, Sri Lanka has a slim chance to book their spot in the semi-finals with three games left in the tournament. Sri Lanka vs South Africa ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Weather Report: Check Out the Rain Forecast and Pitch Report of Riverside Ground

Sri Lanka, with six points in six matches, have a  narrow chance to enter the semi-final in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. They face tough competition from England, Pakistan and Bangladesh for the fourth position on the points table, as the spot will give a semi-final berth to the team, which grabs it at the end of group matches. South Africa, on the other hand, is already out of the race but it can hamper Sri Lanka’s dream of reaching semis in the match. As the match takes a countdown, here we look at some of the players who will be worth watching in Sri Lanka vs South Africa ICC CWC 2019 match. SL vs SA Head-to-Head Record: Ahead of ICC CWC 2019 Clash, Here Are Match Results of Last 5 Sri Lanka vs South Africa Encounters!

Lasith Malinga

Pacer Lasith Malinga will be the most prominent bowler for Sri Lanka as his performance will be crucial to attack South Africa's batting line-up. Malinga rocked with his marvellous performance during Sri Lanka's previous match against England, when he crushed hosts' top order with his fabulous bowling. Malinga dismissed Jonny Bairstow, James Vince, Joe Root and Jos Buttler, destroying England's core batting strength. Against South Africa, he will be expected to give a similar performance right at the start of Sri Lanka's bowling.

Dimuth Karunaratne

Sri Lanka’s skipper Dimuth Karunaratne is one player Sri Lanka can bank upon. Although he failed in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match against England after being dismissed at 1 run, he is the leading batsman of the Asian team at present with 180 runs and two half-centuries. In the match against Australia, the left-handed batsman closely missed a century with a 97-run knock. Considering the fact that Sri Lanka’s two matches out of six were washed out due to rain, the Sri Lankan opener’s performance can be called a decent till now.

Imran Tahir

South African spinner Imran Tahir is one such South African player who has impressed cricket fans in spite of the team’s poor performance in ICC World Cup 2019 so far. The right-handed bowler has 10 wickets in the tournament so far, and is among the top 10 leading wicket-takers in CWC 2019 on the eighth spot. Tahir also has the lowest economy of 4.89 among South Africa’s bowlers, so he is always a bonus for the team during the bowling attack.

Quinton de Kock

The wicket-keeper batsman of South Africa is the leading run-scorer in the team, and being an opener, he has a great opportunity to give a great start to South Africa’s batting. In the last match against Pakistan, de Kock was able to keep his wicket after an early blow for South Africa with Hashim Amla's dismissal.

De Kock scored 47 and was able to manage an 87-run stand with skipper Faf du Plessis. Likewise, during South Africa's only victory in CWC 2019 against Afghanistan, the left-handed batsman played a knock of 68 runs. He has scored two fifties in the tournament so far with 238 runs.

Angelo Mathews

The former Sri Lankan captain holds a key responsibility in the lower middle-order position, with his ability to defend Sri Lanka’s batting if the top order fails. Like in the previous match against England, he was able to build-up Sri Lanka’s batting when they were reeling at 133-5. Mathews played a brilliant innings of 85 runs of 115 balls, taking his team score to 232-9 with his unbeaten knock.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2019 01:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).