South Africa vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI: Likely XI for both sides

AB de Villiers returns to South Africa's ODI side for the first time since June 2016.

Sri Lanka, brimming with newfound confidence, will be eager to face hosts South Africa in the first match of the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series on Saturday. Playing at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth, it will be a crucial match for both the teams to take the lead in the series. In a daring attempt, South Africa’s core team was rested for the Twenty20 International (T20I) series and Farhaan Behardien was handed captaincy of a relatively inexperienced bunch of boys to face Sri Lanka, who were by the time accustomed to the playing conditions. As a result, Sri Lanka took the series away and put some life into the tour, which was previously dominated by the home team. Full Cricket Scorecard: South Africa vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI at Port Elizabeth

If the hosts have some positives to take from the T20I series, that will be the comeback of their star player AB de Villiers, who announced his return to the international arena with a blistering 63-run innings in the final T20I. Behardien’s captaincy could not help the side to a victory in the decider but de Villiers will be back in charge for the ODI series, which is a positive move. He has been out of the game for quite a long time and though he has shown his prowess with the bat in the past, it will be interesting to see what changes he brings in after a long lay-off.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will be exceptionally confident after the series win on foreign soil. After not being able to manage a single victory in whites, the T20I series win must have brought the two teams at par, making the contest even again. The ODI series stands as the deciding competition between the two teams. Paulami Chakraborty brings to you the likely XI for both South Africa and Sri Lanka for the series opener. South Africa vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI: Preview

Top-order: South Africa’s top-order will be the nucleus of their batting line-up, with three of their most consistent and talented players coming out to bat. Hashim Amla is expected to open batting with wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock. Amla is one of the most experienced and composed batsmen in the squad and has opened batting with de Kock on many occasions. The duo have good understanding between them and will be expected to provide the team with a solid start. To take things forward, de Villiers comes out at No. 3. De Villiers’ knock has proved that his absence from international cricket has hardly affected his form. If these three batsmen manage to play long knocks, South Africa will step closer to a big total. READ: Lungi Ngidi ruled out of ODI series vs Sri Lanka

For Sri Lanka, the opening position has been a problem for a long time now. On multiple occasions, the openers have failed to spend time at the crease, which in turn has taken a toll on their entire batting line-up. However, Niroshan Dickwella has shown good form in the T20I series, which should be his ticket to the ODI opening spot. Along with him, Upul Tharanga, the captain for the series, can come out as he played the perfect partner to Dickwella. At No. 3, Dinesh Chandimal will come out to bat. Chandimal has evolved into a potential No. 3 batsman for Sri Lanka through the transition period and makes the batting stronger with his technical skills.

Middle-order: South Africa’s middle-order starts with Faf du Plessis. Du Plessis has been in decent form of late and will be depended upon to strengthen the middle-order. Following him, a dependable JP Duminy will come out to bat. Duminy has taken charge when the top-order has failed on many occasions and will be expected to do the same, if need be. Behardien batted better than most of the South Africa batsmen in the T20I series, which seals his spot for the opening ODI, while it will be a test for David Miller, who failed to impress in the T20I series, barring his quickfire 40 in the rain-truncated first T20I.  South Africa will get help from Chris Morris with the bat down the order.

Sri Lanka will miss the services of Angelo Mathews in the middle-order. Dhananjaya de Silva will come out to bat at No. 4. Following him, Kusal Mendis and Nuwan Kulasekara will come out to bat. Sri Lanka can pick newbie Lahiru Madushanka and Chaturanga de Silva who can be utilised as all-rounders. Both players have impressed one and all with their performances in First-Class and look strong to make it to the playing XI. READ: Sri Lanka add Kumara, Vandersay, Sanjaya to their squad for ODIs

Bowlers: Kagiso Rabada will be the leading pacer for South Africa along with Morris. Wayne Parnell will be the other option in the pace attack. Lungi Ngidi will miss the ODIs due to his injury. For spin bowling, South Africa might put experienced Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi. Also the part-time option of JP Duminy is always available.

Sri Lanka have reset their bowling just prior to the opening ODI adding Lahiru Kumara. Kumara impressed everyone with great discipline and utilised the conditions well. He is a sure inclusion to the playing XI and will be the other new ball bowler along with Suranga Lakmal. Along with these two, Lahiru Madushanka will be the other option for pace bowling. In the absence of Mathews, another option of pace bowling is reduced and they will have to rely on the uncapped players as well as the spinners a lot. As a specialist spinner, Lakshan Sandakan is available. Dhananjaya de Silva can bowl a few occasional overs while Chaturanga de Silva can also be handed the ball.

Likely XI for first ODI:

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers (c), Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell, Imran Tahir

Sri Lanka: Niroshan Dickwella, Upul Tharanga (c), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lahiru Madushanka, Chaturanga de Silva, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Lakshan Sandakan.

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