Lions seek Test win against Proteas, eying WTC final
Sri Lanka’s record in South Africa ahead of their ninth Test series against the host nation is far from encouraging. Out of 17 matches, they have won only three, with 13 losses and a draw. All three wins were in the past decade, when TM Dilshan led the team to their first-ever Test victory in South Africa in 2011 and Dimuth Karunaratne’s squad achieved a rare 2-0 success in 2019.Now, five years later, Sri Lanka is preparing for a crucial challenge. Their fate in the World Test Championship (WTC) hangs in the balance. A good performance in this series is vital. Even a single win in the two-match series against South Africa will boost their hopes of qualifying for the WTC final. Their final series is against Australia at the spin-friendly Galle International Stadium, where they will be aiming for another strong performance. But as of now, the focus is firmly on South Africa where the first Test match will begin on November 27 in Durban, with the second Test following on December 5 in Gqeberha.
Sri Lanka will fancy their chances, as they have beaten the hosts in Durban and Gqeberha during their historic series victory in 2019 as the two venues offers conditions closest to sub-continental as can be found in South Africa. This success will surely boost the confidence of the Lankans as they aim to replicate their 2019 heroics.
Sri Lanka’s recent form has been promising, with three consecutive wins against England and New Zealand, putting them in a strong position with four matches still to play. If they win all four remaining games, they will reach a win percentage of 69.2%, which would put them in a good spot–unless India wins all five Tests in their Border-Gavaskar series. Even three wins out of four will give Sri Lanka a 61% win percentage, keeping them in the race, but they will need other teams to drop points, as well.
“We are going there with a purpose. We know if we perform well, good opportunities await us,” said Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya, just hours before boarding a flight with remaining members of the squad enroute to South Africa.
With no practice games on the agenda due to the tight international schedule, Sri Lanka sent their red-ball cricketers ahead of the official series to acclimatise, as they did in the England series.
“It would have been ideal to have a practice game, but as we were playing white-ball cricket till recent, we weren’t able to arrange one,” Jayasuriya said.
“We are doing our best to acclimatise, and players not involved in white-ball cricket have been sent early to South Africa for valuable practice.”
To help the team adjust to the South African conditions, Sri Lanka have enlisted former South African batsman Neil McKenzie. He is currently working with the players currently in South Africa and Jayasuriya hopes that will provide valuable insights into the local conditions, wicket behaviour, and the approach needed to succeed.
“McKenzie will give us information on conditions, wickets, and what we should do in South Africa. He has been discussing with our players who are already there. I think they’ve received good feedback,” said Jayasuriya.
“Unfortunately, due to his other commitments, we cannot have him for the entire tournament.”
This was an approach similar to what Sri Lanka used in England where Ian Bell served as a consultant to the team. Sri Lanka’s batting has often been a mix of promise and frustration, particularly in foreign conditions. Against high quality pace attacks, they have struggled to find consistency.
Experienced players like Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, and Angelo Mathews will be key in leading the charge, but they must adapt quickly to the challenging South African conditions. One player to watch closely will be Kamindu Mendis, who has been in excellent form this year, scoring 943 run at 94.30 with five centuries and three half centuries. His success will be crucial in stabilising Sri Lanka’s middle order, which will be tested against South Africa’s dangerous pace attack, including Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee.
On the bowling front, Sri Lanka’s spinners will be at a disadvantage. While they are potent in spin-friendly conditions at home, they may struggle in South Africa, where the pitch conditions favour pace bowlers.
However, the addition of left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya alongside Prabath Jayasuriya and Nishan Peiris offers depth to the spin attack, but it is the fast bowlers who will need to lead the charge. Sri Lanka’s pace attack, led by Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, and Milan Ratnayake, will be tasked with taking wickets in conditions that typically benefit South African fast bowlers.
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