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South Africa vs Sri Lanka on February 13

Sri Lankan cricket is experiencing a real low at the moment. After losing a home series 0-3 to England, they’ve lost Test series’ in New Zealand and Australia. They’re now in South Africa for a 2-match Test series, which will be followed by 5-ODIs and three T20Is. Durban will host the first Test and while Sri Lanka searches for answers, South Africa is on a high. They absolutely mauled Pakistan on the just-concluded series and their pace-attack is one of the best in world cricket at the moment. The only inspiration for Sri Lanka going into the series opener will be their stunning win over South Africa in the home series last year. South Africa won their last Test at the venue in 2013 and haven’t beaten the visitors as well.

Best economical pick – No one can deny that South Africa are a much better team when they have Dale Steyn leading the attack. One of the finest bowlers of the generation, Dale Steyn is still very much a feared bowler for the batsmen. With conditions favoring him, Steyn will be looking to create all sorts of problems for the Sri Lankan batsmen and can get you a lot of points

Top captains & vice captains – Kagiso Rabada has been Proteas backbone in all formats of the game. He could destroy any batting line-up in the world with his raw pace. The right-arm pacer is currently the number one bowler in the ICC Test Match Player Rankings. The 23-year-old ended the 2018 year as the leading wicket-taker in Tests with 52 wickets from just 10 games. Dean Elgar puts a price on his wicket and has the ability to bat time and tire the opposition bowlers down. He had form on his side, too, with a fifty in the first game and will look to give South Africa a solid start against a fragile Sri Lankan bowling attack.

Smart pick – If opening in Tests overseas wasn’t an easy challenge, Dimuth Karunaratne has an added responsibility of leading a faltering line-up at the moment. It will be interesting to see how he deals with the captaincy and it goes without saying that he needs to lead from the front with the bat. Even on the field, the left-hander will have to make better decisions and also keep the spirits of his team high at a venue where Sri Lanka are yet to lose to South Africa in Tests.

Cautions Pick – Faf du Plessis will return after serving a one-match ban for slow over-rate. This means that either Theunis de Bruyn will have to make way for the skipper. Expect the rest of South Africa’s squad to be the same as the one that featured against Pakistan.

My XI – Kagiso Rabada (Captain), Dean Elgar (Vice-Captain), Dale Steyn, Dimuth Karunaratne, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Kasun Rajitha, Vernon Philander, Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella