The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy has caught the cricketing world’s attention. Obviously people in India and Australia are following it religiously, the fans, the experts, former cricketers from England, New Zealand, West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, basically everyone is following it. If there’s any room left, the upcoming England-New Zealand series has some interest. So how relevant would be the two-match assignment between Sri Lanka and South Africa will be featuring two teams who generally operate under the radar? Well, for one, both teams are in contention for a spot in the World Test Championship final, and with an even better chance than India and New Zealand.
Secondly, both teams are in form having won their respective three Tests and look good to challenge India, Australia and New Zealand for the spot in the final. South Africa will be raring to go after an inspired couple of weeks in Bangladesh, with batters, spinners and pacers everyone making a mark and since that comprehensive performance came away from home, it will boost the Proteas’ confidence even further ahead of four home Tests.
Skipper Temba Bavuma returns after recovering from hand injury. South Africa have already announced their playing XI and not just Bavuma, Jansen and Gerald Coetzee too returned to the Proteas’ line-up as the hosts go all-in for that elusive WTC final spot.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka have been in some form across formats since Sanath Jayasuriya took over. A Test win in England followed by a 2-0 win against New Zealand may just have increased the expectations from this playing group led by Dhananjaya de Silva. How this team responds under pressure in one of the toughest places to tour for any Test team will be an interesting challenge for Sri Lanka to overcome in order to push for that spot.
The two-match Test series between South Africa and Sri Lanka will kick off on Wednesday, November 27 at 1 PM IST every day till Sunday, December 1, with the remaining game scheduled for December 5-9 in Gqeberha. The SA vs SL Test series will be live broadcast on Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD channels and all three matches can be live streamed on the JioCinema app and website.
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South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne
Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Oshada Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Lasith Embuldeniya, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha
