South Africa put the disaster of the Test series behind them at the weekend to get the ODI series with Sri Lanka off to a winning start, and they will be eyeing up a 2-0 lead when the two teams meet in the second game in Centurion on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka shouldn’t lose heart in this series just yet but they know that if hey realistically harbour hopes of winning it, this is a match they have to win, so they need draw on their exploits in the Test matches more than ever here.
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South Africa
Given what had gone on in the Test matches, it is to the credit of South Africa that they were able to respond so well in the first ODI. Admittedly it was the new personnel who did much of the damage, which undoubtedly helped, but it would still have been easy for the home side to dwell on what had gone before, rather than focus on what was in front of them.
Winning that opening game will have been a boost for South Africa but the fact remains that this is a work in progress ahead of the World Cup, with the Proteas needing to use this series to make a definitive decision on who they can take to England and who to leave behind. If winning comes in the process then that will be so much the better.
Sri Lanka
I would imagine there was a good deal of disappointment in the Sri Lanka camp after the first game because they should have gone into it brimming with confidence and expecting to win after their exploits in the Test series. In the end they ended up losing pretty tamely and never really had much of a go so at the very least I’m expecting something more competitive from them here.
It might have been that the conditions in Johannesburg caught them out but at the same time they are not a team who are used to winning. They too will be looking to build for the World Cup, but unlike South Africa, you get the impression that winning is important for Sri Lanka, to build up a bit of belief if nothing else.
Team News
South Africa might look to make changes throughout this series as they search for the winning combination ahead of the World Cup. Kagiso Rabada could be the one to sit out here as that quest continues.
With no reasonable threat with the ball in the opening match it would be a surprise if Sri Lanka don’t do something to change that. Kasun Rajitha could be the man to come in should they want to switch anything around.
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Betting
Usually at SuperSport Park the runs flow naturally and I think that will be the case once again here too. When Pakistan were here earlier in the summer they put up over 300 against this South African attack and they had barely scored a run on the entire tour to that point so I see no reason why a Sri Lanka line up who have been going pretty well in the main won’t score well.
South Africa showed in the first game that they have the measure of this Sri Lanka bowling attack so I would be surprised if they runs don’t flow in this match. The runs line for this match is 540.5 so we need 270 in both innings to get that covered. Six of the last nine first innings here have gone over 300 and there is a 290+ in there too. This line should get covered.
Tips
Back Over 540.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betway
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