Proteas bat first in Durban

Sri Lanka have won the toss and have sent the Proteas in to bat in the third ODI at Kingsmead in Durban, writes SIMON LEWIS.

With the World Cup just a handful of ODIs away, the Proteas will be looking for a power-packed performance against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead as they look to seal the series with a third win on the trot in the five-match series against Sri Lanka.

While the Sri Lanka batsmen will look to up their game after failing to deliver in the first two matches, the Proteas will also be targetting an improved performance from their batsmen. While two wins on the trot are good business, the batsmen have certainly not hit their straps as they would want to heading into a super-important World Cup campaign.

No doubt the line-up might offer other batsmen a chance to shine, with Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock possibly being moved down the order as they have both been in the runs of late. Despite the fact that both batsmen have come good with the willow, they will each also seek improvement in terms of pushing on from 50s, 60s, 80s and 90s to seeing an innings through to a big century.

That will be of major importance at the World Cup and, while it is important for all the batsmen to be scoring runs, it is equally important that the form men pump up their performances even higher.

Players to Watch

David Miller has flown under the radar in the recent ODIs, but this is largely due to him not getting the chance to bat and coming in at unfavourable moments in the match. The third ODI is the perfect time for him to show his BMT and importance to the side. Perhaps Faf will decide to push some of his lower-order batsmen up the order to give them an opportunity to showcase their talent.

There are a number of Proteas players who will want to cement their seat on the plane to England, so expect to see big efforts from Reeza Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dwaine Pretorius and Rassie van der Dussen.

Sri Lanka will need one or two of their batsmen to step up in the ODI series as they did so well in their triumphant Test series. To be fair to the visitors, their squad has spent a lot of time on the road and exhaustion might be a factor, as well a finding it hard to lift themselves after the highs of the Test series win.

Kusal Mendis has been the visitors’ top scorer in the first two ODIs, but it’s time for the likes of Kusal Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva to gain some momentum for their side, as they could prove to be dangerous weapons for the sub-continent side in England.