South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test - Key Players for Both Teams

The South Africa vs Sri Lanka Test series has reached its final phase where the two teams will meet for the 2nd Test on 5th December. With a win in the first Test, South Africa is ahead of the Lankans by 1-0. The best betting sites in India have uploaded the odds for the 2nd fixture between the two teams.

Sri Lanka is in big trouble right and the only option they have is to level the series by winning the 2nd fixture. They have dipped down to the 5th position in the World Test Championship point table and now their chances to reach the final match at the Lord’s next year.

South Africa has reached the 2nd position in the WTC 2023-25 points after their win in the first fixture over Sri Lanka. Their change in position also came because of Team India’s win over Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Proteas need to win the remaining three Tests to qualify for the WTC finals.

It is a close fight and hence the 2nd Test is expected to be an absolute thriller between the two teams. The hosts won the first fixture but Sri Lanka has the potential to bounce back and level the series. The cricket match prediction for the 2nd Test talks in detail about both teams.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka - 1st Test Summary

Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bowl first. They completely dominated the 1st innings with the ball and at one point, it looked like the Lankans would have a comfortable win. However, the scenario completely changed when the Proteas bowlers came to attack and decimated the Sri Lankan batting unit like a house of cards.
 

The 1st inning was not a favourable inning for the batters from both sides. The Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma was the top scorer with 70 off 117 balls at a strike rate of 59.83.

As South Africa came to bat in the 2nd inning, things completely changed the batting unit dominated the opposition. It was a fabulous performance from the Proteas batting unit and the [pressure was transferred on the Sri Lankan squad to perform the same way.

From the Lankan batting side, the batters failed to do their job well and give it back to the opposition in the same way. Their top order witnessed an early departure and the middle order looked under pressure. Sri Lanka needs to have some tough discussions in the batting unit in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test - Probable Playing XI

South Africa

Temba Bavuma, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada

Sri Lanka

Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Vishwa Fernando, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando

South Africa vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test - Key Players

1) Marco Jansen - South Africa

Marco Jansen is going to be the player to watch out for in the 2nd Test. With 11 wickets in the 1st test, Jansen became the player of the match and he will be confident to continue his performance in the same for the 2nd Test. This was his career’s best performance his first-ever 10-fer in Test cricket and the first ever by a left-arm pacer for South Africa.

2) Kamindu Mendis - Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan batters came out as a complete failure in front of the South African playing conditions. However, Kamindu Mendis is one name who has an opportunity and has the required talent to outperform every batter in the match. He is the 4th highest run-scorer in Test cricket and can make a huge impact for the visitors in the 2nd Test.

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