South Africa round off their tour of Sri Lanka on Tuesday afternoon when the two sides meet in a one-off T20 match in Colombo which you get the feeling has been included in the schedule through necessity rather than desire.
The fact the contest comes barely 48hrs after the final ODI concluded would suggest neither side really want to play it but need to in order to keep the shortest format of the game prevalent in the international arena.
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Sri Lanka
The one thing the match does do is give Sri Lanka the opportunity to continue their recent revival in the white ball game. Having won the last two ODIs they can complete a hat trick of limited overs successes and if anything they would be able to silence anyone suggesting they only came out on top in the last two matches because South Africa had already won the series.
I would suggest that this format of the game is likely to be the one that Sri Lanka are most competitive at currently. I say that because their bowling attack is relatively inexperienced by modern standards and will be capable of holding their own over shorter spells while the longer spells could catch them out a little.
South Africa
Often when a T20 match is at the end of a tour the touring side just wants to be on the plane and you could argue that the evidence suggests that is where they want to be based on the last two ODIs. With the next T20 World Cup a fair way away it remains to be seen how much motivation the visitors have here.
It could be argued that this is an important match for South Africa though. There is no AB de Villiers anymore so they will have to formulate, and execute, plans without him moving forward. As is often the case at the end of a lengthy tour like this one though, key players are usually missing or being rested which acts as making these games largely irrelevant.
Team News
Sri Lanka have Dinesh Chandimal back from suspension for this match which will be a boost to their batting line up. Isuru Udana has been called up for this game which suggests the home side are taking it seriously.
South Africa rested Kagiso Rabada for the final two matches of the ODI series and he is expected to be given a further rest here too. There is talk that Hashim Amla could sit this one with Reeza Hendricks opening alongside Quinton de Kock.
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Betting
Sometimes you need to do a little bit of guesswork or digging into the motivation levels of the two sides in these one-off matches at the end of a tour but I don’t think that is the case here. By changing their squad Sri Lanka are clearly taking it seriously and by not changing theirs South Africa don’t appear to be as bothered about it.
Sri Lanka should have built up a good deal of confidence from two emphatic wins in the final two ODIs and I think they can take that into this one. Chandimal being back should help them and with South Africa nowhere near full strength with the bat I think the home side are the ones to be on at odds against here.
Tips
WON – Back Sri Lanka to beat South Africa for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Betfair
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