Sri Lanka aiming to go level on points with England as they take on South Africa

Sri Lanka will go level on points with England and keep their World Cup semi-final qualification hopes in their own hands if they beat South Africa at Durham.

Dimuth Karunaratne’s side sparked the race for a top-four place into life last Friday when they claimed a shock victory over England at Headingley and if they win their final three matches, Sri Lanka will finish on 12 points.

With Australia, New Zealand and India clear of the chasing pack, of the sides battling for the fourth knockout place only Eoin Morgan’s side could match that total and net run-rate would be used to determine which team would progress to the semi-finals.

To reach that point though, Sri Lanka must start by beating South Africa, whose own chances of qualification were ended by Pakistan on Sunday. Sri Lanka have had a full week to prepare for the match at Durham’s Riverside Stadium.

The experienced duo of Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga were the stars performers in the win over England, scoring an unbeaten 85 and taking 4-43 respectively, and Sri Lanka will be hoping they can lead a young side to another crucial victory.

TEAM NEWS

Sri Lanka could be without Nuwan Pradeep, who bowled so well and took the final wicket against England. He has been struck down with a fever and Suranga Lakmal is in line to replace him.

JP Duminy is expected to return for South Africa after David Miller was ruled out with a groin injury sustained in the loss to Pakistan.

ONES TO WATCH

Mathews and Malinga took the headlines for Sri Lanka after the win over England but perhaps the most eye-catching performance came before either of them were able to make their mark. Avishka Fernando came in at No 3 on his World Cup debut and before he faced a ball, Sri Lanka were 3-2.

The 21-year-old proceeded to play in a manner which suggested his side were 250-2 such was the confidence in his stroke-making. Fernando went through his full repertoire of shots, front foot, back foot, offside, legside – he looked to have the lot as he hit six fours and two sixes in a 39-ball innings of 49.

He just missed out on his half-century but the big question as he walked off was was why it had taken this long for Sri Lanka to pick a young player of such obvious quality?

South Africa are playing for pride and with qualification out of the question, they will no doubt start looking to the future and one man sure to play a central role over the next few years in Lungi Ngidi. The 23-year-old fast bowler has struggled with injuries in the past few months and has not made quiet the impact he would have liked at this World Cup.

He has shown glimpses of what he is capable of and will be keen to finish strong and lay down a marker for the tournaments to come.

WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?

Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusingha: “Obviously, we think that we have a good chance because we are coming off two wins and a very good win against England. Although we didn’t play our best cricket to win the game in terms of batting [against England], I think we had a perfect bowling display, defending that target.”

South Africa’s JP Duminy said: “I think it will be amiss of me not to mention how disappointed we are, particularly letting all our fans down back home. We obviously want to apologise to the public and the South African fans for letting them down.

“You know when you represent your country, it is always a proud moment and you understand that you represent 50, 60 million people, that is a proud moment in itself. When you put in performances like we have, you in a way almost feel ashamed of that.”

Watch every game at the ICC Cricket World Cup on Sky Sports, continuing with Sri Lanka vs South Africa from 10am, Friday on Sky Sports Cricket World Cup.

(c) Sky News 2019: Sri Lanka aiming to go level on points with England as they take on South Africa