Published: Jan 28, 2017, 12:30 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 28, 2017, 08:13 PM (IST)
Good Morning/Afternoon, Goeie More, සුභ සන්ධ්යාවක්! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live blog session of the first of the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series between hosts South Africa, and visitors Sri Lanka at the St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. I am Pramod Ananth, and I will be bringing to you all the live updates from this tie. South Africa have already suffered a setback in the limited-overs format against the very visitors, as they lost the three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) by 1-2, while they aim to turn things around in the 50 overs format. As for Sri Lanka, they have gained the much needed momentum, following the T20I series win, and would aim to carry it forward in the ODIs as well.
Sri Lanka’s previous ODI series was the Zimbabwe tri-series, also featuring hosts Zimbabwe and West Indies. Sri Lanka managed to emerge victorious. But in their previous bilateral series against Australia, they lost 4-1 at home. South Africa on the other hand hammered Australia in their previous ODI series. They have been in excellent form even after that, having beaten Australia and Sri Lanka in Tests. South Africa vs Sri Lanka 1st ODI: Preview
Dark clouds are expected around Port Elizabeth on Saturday. There could be some mild showers as well. We have already seen the first T20I at Centurion being reduced to 10 overs per side due to rain, which could play a part in this match as well. Sri Lanka add Kumara, Vandersay, Sanjaya to their squad for ODIs
Squads:
South Africa: AB de Villiers (c), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi (Ruled out), Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.
Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga (c), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Chaturanga de Silva, , Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Asela Gunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Madushanka, Kusal Mendis, Sachith Pathirana, , Lakshan Sandakan, Sandun Weerakkody, Lahiru Kumara, Vikum Sanjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay.
