Sri Lanka and South Africa are two sides that gained fame and respect in cricket. South Africa came with making fielding levels of cricket better. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, won the 1996 Cricket World Cup. And it set them up for life to become a really good cricket side. In the history of cricket, every fan of this sport knows Sri Lanka vs South Africa is not a normal game at all. Sri Lanka and South Africa have shared so many great matches from Test, ODI to T20I. In every format, they have shared some of the best moments where keeping an eye away from the scorecard is always a hard job.
Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Vs South Africa National Cricket Team: History
When it comes to Test cricket, South Africa and Sri Lanka have faced each other 31 times. South Africa has won 16, lost nine and six draws. As far as the ODI is concerned, both sides have met 81 times. Out of 81, only one in each game had no result and a tie. SA has won 46, while Sri Lanka has won 33.
In the shortest format of the game, T20I, total meetings are 18. South Africa has the upper hand with 13 wins and just five losses. In terms of H2H, South Africa has a better record. They have won more games in all three formats. However, when it comes to ICC events, Sri Lanka holds the upper hand as they have a 50-over World Cup in 1996 and a T20 WC in 2014. Plus they have reached the finals of the World Cup in 50 overs in 2007 and 2011. In 2002, they were declared joint winner of the ICC Champions Trophy with India.
Other than the World Test Championship, they have won all the titles in cricket when it comes to ICC. South Africa, has won just the 1998, Champions Trophy. And this is it. In terms of quality throughout the years, it is hard to see that South Africa has not won WC in T20 and ODI.
Key Players in History
The rivalry between Sri Lanka and South Africa has become bigger with the influence of some of their legends who have done a mega job for both nations.
Arjuna Ranatunga is the first that comes on the list when it is about the best of Sri Lanka in cricket. Because he is the reason behind winning the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Aravinda D’Silva is another player of his era who gets credit for making the right impact with the bat.
Then who can forget Sanath Jayasuriya as he was a fearsome batsman and a good spin bowler too. Chaminda Vaas is the one who is being called one of the best fast bowlers from Asia.
The contribution of Muthiah Muralidharan as a leg spinner is huge and he has been two of the best spinners ever in cricket. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are two of the best batsmen ever and top in Asia. This list becomes better with opener Tillakaratne Dilshan and kind of Yorker Lasith Malinga. These are the key players of Sri Lanka who had done a mega job for cricket in this tiny costal nation.
For South Africa, the first name that comes on the list is Allan Donald. And then a very technically sound seamer in Shawn Pollock. It then starts the era of Dale Steyn, who is one of the best fast bowlers in cricket history. Herschel Gibbs; as a batsman, Jaunty Rhodes; as a fielder, Jacques Kallis; as the best all-arounder of the game and Graeme Craig Smith; as the captain for the side for a long time, South Africa has shown some of the best players of all-time. AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla are recently-retired legends of the game.
Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Vs South Africa National Cricket Team Match Scorecard
Sri Lanka and South Africa locked horns in their latest clash at the 2024 Cricket World Cup. It was a shocking defeat for Sri Lanka at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, United States. In 19.1 overs, the 2014 T20 World Cup winners went all-out in 77 runs and gave South Africa the target of 78 runs to win.
On 3 June 2024, South Africa did not find it hard to chase the total and won the game by seven wickets with 22 balls left in the game. Anrich Nortje took four wickets and broke the back of Sri Lanka. He got backing from fast-bowler Kagiso Rabada and spinner Keshav Maharaj, with two each wickets. Even Otneil Bartman took one crucial wicket.
Kusal Mendis with 19 runs was the highest scorer for Sri Lanka and no other batsman managed to cross this mark. Some were tired but were not able to set things on a bowling-friendly wicket.
As the total was very normal, Quinton de Kock scored 20 runs and made the game done then and there. Sri Lanka did try to take four wickets. But every player scored 10 plus runs before getting out and it made it easy for the middle-order to finish the game without getting panic. So overall, it was one of the lowest-scoring T20I games between them. As the scorecard was very low and the wicket had something for bowlers, the scorecard was very eye-catching. So the decision of SA winning the toss and fielding first became write.
- Sri Lanka: 77 (19.1)
- South Africa: 80/4 (16.2)
South Africa won the game by 6 wickets.
Sri Lanka was not able to do well, while South Africa got motivated from this win and reached the final, where they lost to India.
The future of both sides
Sri Lanka did see a dip in their game post the 2015 CWC. However, in just five to six years, they again made a decent team. Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews are using their experience in the game to make sure that young players can learn how to win games against other top sides with consistency. For them winning games away from home in Test and doing well at ICC events can be seen as two of the major things.
When it comes to South Africa, not winning any form of World Cup hits them a lot. In 2024, they lost the T20 WC from the winning position. This gives them just one aim which is to utilise players to win ICC events.
Conclusion
Sri Lanka National Cricket Team Vs South Africa National Cricket Team Match Scorecard did show another good match between them. South Africa’s bowling made them win the game on a pitch that was a gift for fast bowlers. Sri Lanka scored so low that the bowlers did not have a fair chance to win the game.
South Africa did win the toss and blowing first helped them to win the game well. For the fans, the scorecard was a must to look at as the game on such a pitch could have gone anywhere. So yes, overall it was a game to forget for Sri Lanka and good backing for South Africa.
Also read:- Bangladesh National Cricket Team Vs Australian Men’s Cricket Team Match Scorecard
FAQs
Q Who has won more ICC titles between Sri Lanka and South Africa?
South Africa has won just one ICC title in the form of the Champions Trophy, but Sri Lanka has won World Cups in both forms of cricket and a joint-Champions Trophy with India.
Q. Who holds a better H2H record between Sri Lanka and South Africa?
South Africa holds a better head-to-head record against Sri Lanka in all forms of cricket.
Q. Has South Africa won the World Cup in cricket?
South Africa has not won the 50-over or T-20 World Cup yet.
Q. Who is MR 360 in cricket?
South Africa legend AB de Villiers is being called MR 360 as he was scoring on any side of the cricket pitch.
Q. When did Sri Lanka win their first ODI WC?
In 1996, Sri Lanka beat Australia to win their one and only ODI World Cup.
